Imagine this:

You press play on a new album; there is absolute silence for a few seconds. This is followed by an atmospheric build up of orchestral music. This smoothly transitions into a beautiful sweeping melody that reminds the listener of an epic battle scene. This particular piece of music grabs you from the moment you hear this heroic piece of music; this was only the beginning of the record.

The record in question is the brand new masterpiece rightfully titled "King" and this stately album was ingeniously created by Italian Symphonic Death Metal act FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE. It's no secret they are slowly becoming a more established presence on the metal scene, with this stunning success showcasing their grand, majestic sound it is easy to see why this is.

For those of you new to these heirs to the Metal throne here is some information; they formed in the year 2007. To say their influences are interesting would be a huge understatement; it is brilliant seeing CANNIBAL CORPSE and WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART in the same sentence under influences. Two completely different styles of music yet FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE show us that opposite ends definitely attract.

Onto the record itself in all its fine glory; it gives us a beautiful selection of tracks that can easily be crowned as royalty. This album contains a track for each subject of the royal court; for example you "The Fool" which provides a more out of place vibe for the court jester, "Paramour (Die Leidenschaft bringt Leiden)" the stripped down ballad for your queen and tracks like "Gravity" for the king's men where the sweeping melodies remind one of a majestic battle taking place.

It ends on a more than mesmerising note with the haunting title track that is solely performed on a grand piano. If this glowing report doesn't encourage you to give the album a spin when it becomes available via Nuclear Blast 5^th February, there is no knowing what will.

Fan or not, every metal head needs to purchase and listen to this album.