József Kalapács is a key figure in Hungary’s heavy metal history, having fronted two highly influential bands before starting a band under his own last name. In all honesty though, I think both of those bands improved after his departure. Pokolgép recorded their best albums with Joe Rudán at the microphone and Omen moved away from an overdose of mid-tempo tracks after Kalapács left. Remarkably though, Kalapács himself also released his best material since starting his own band. And while last year’s ‘Világvégre’ came close, no Kalapács album confirms this improvement as clearly as 2009’s ‘Apokalipszis’ does.

Despite carrying his name, Kalapács is more than just a solo project for the singer. The band’s current line-up has been around since 2000 and all of the band members contribute to the songwriting. This is a key ingredient to the band’s sound, because while the Judas Priest, Accept and AC/DC influences that are present on everything Kalapács sings on can certainly be heard, guitarist Lajos Sárközi and bassist István Beloberk in particular appear to be strongly influenced by contemporary European power metal as well. The result is something that is decidedly old school in compositional and melodic approach, but does not sound dated in the slightest.

What makes ‘Apokalipszis’ stand out against a discography with a fairly consistent stylistic approach is the greater variation in the tempo department. Mid-tempo material still makes up a large portion of the album, but when placed among faster-paced songs like ‘A Vég’, ‘Gyilkos Tánc’, the title track and the excellent opener ‘Mutáns Vagyok’ or something on the lower end of the mid-tempo scale, like the particularly pounding ‘Majdnem Szabadon’, the album never feels like a slog to get through. The melodies also seem to hit the spot just a little better than usual this time around, with nearly every song being highly memorable.

Metal albums in general have a tendency to be remembered by their highlights and fortunately, there are plenty of them on ‘Apokalipszis’. The aforementioned ‘Mutáns Vagyok’ kicks off the album in an exciting and energetic manner, but the following ‘Sohase Vár’ is even better. With its dynamic structure and its fantastic, dramatic chorus, it is one of the most European-styled power metal tracks in Kalapács’ discography. The thick sandpaper edge to Kalapács’ vocal cords really elevates the emotional impact of the chorus. His vocal approach is also what makes ‘Kósza Vér’ one of the best ballads of his career, though the somewhat unconventional structure helps as well.

If old-fashioned, no-frills heavy metal is what you are after, almost every album József Kalapács sings on is worth a try. But even the most reliable artists have one or more albums on which they transcend themselves. ‘Apokalipszis’ is that moment for Kalapács, both the singer and the band. Despite releasing quality material throughout the last decade, ‘Apokalipszis’ has both singer and band getting everything exactly right. And in an increasingly boastful heavy/power metal scene, it is more than pleasant to have an album that does not try to be more than simply a great collection of heavy metal songs in an order with a great flow.

Recommended tracks: ‘Sohase Vár’, ‘Mutáns Vagyok’, ‘Majdnem Szabadon’, ‘Gyilkos Tánc’