Even though their name is German this band comes from France. Der Kaiser was founded back in 1981 in Paris. They released a demo in 1983 and two full-length albums from Devil’s Records. Their debut album was released back in 1984. Now both their albums are being released on CD format by No Remorse Records. This release is limited to 500 copies and it includes lyrics and photos of the band. The CD isn’t remastered so it has an old school sound. The band has a high song writing level and it offers us traditional heavy metal in the vein of Iron Maiden. The songs are sung in French but this shouldn’t be a problem for the traditional heavy metal fan because their stuff is really good. The vocalist is good but especially the two guitarists of Der Kaiser have done an exceptional guitar work!! The best songs of the album (with the really exceptional cover) are “Saga des Fers”, “Non Retour”, “Cite Feroce” and the homonym track. In conclusion this is a really great heavy metal release, a must have for the fans of traditional heavy metal. I would say that Der Kaiser is one of the best French heavy metal bands along with legendary acts like Sortilege, Nightmare, Blaspheme, Steel Angel, ADX, H-Bomb, Strattson and Venin.
Sample:
http://www.myspace.com/171633773 (fan site)
9/10 Ioannis “Knight of Light” Kaskamanidis
