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Thy Majestie is a band that was spawned back in 1998 through the ever increasingly crowded power metal scene in Italy. Making a name for yourself in the genre itself is difficult enough but add to that hurdle the amount of power metal bands in your very own backyard and the task becomes even more daunting. The first full-length from Thy Majestie (The Lasting Promise) was actually pretty good but lacked originality as well as suffering from a very poor production job so I was actually pretty curious to see how they have addressed these issues.

This new album "Hastings 1066" has them moving away from the epic power metal sound they had on their debut to a more of a mix between power and progressive metal which I personally think was a very good move. The new material is a concept album, which isn’t terribly original considering it seems everyone is doing a concept album lately but the subject is certainly original. The concept is about the Battle of Hastings, which if I remember my history classes correctly was when the Normans from France fought the British and pretty much kicked their ass after the British had to make a long ass march from the north where they were a little busy with the Irish. I could be wrong…after all it has been a while since high school…heh. I was thinking that this was a rather odd choice for a concept album but then again when I think back to the amount of concept albums I have written (At last count…0) I guess I am certainly not an expert on the subject. The music itself great variety in the songwriting with all the different instruments being used mixed together extremely well and utilized throughout the album making it come together as a constant story. The vocals are exactly what you would expect although at times they seem just slightly heavier than normal. The guitar work is where that prog metal feel really comes through mainly through the use of some shredding style leads.

Overall a very good album and one that shows great maturation process from their debut. If the maturation process from this band grows at this rate it may not be long before they break into the upper levels of the genre. Whether this album is good enough to differentiate itself from other power metal bands out there remains to be seen but it is certainly a step in the right direction. Recommended.