Resilience is Jupiter’s biggest virtue. Ever since their 2013 debut album ‘Classical Element‘ completely reignited my love for symphonic power metal, they have dealt with multiple setbacks that would have killed many other bands, and still come out on top. They did test their fanbase’s patience sometimes. Although a handful of singles served as evidence that the band was still alive in the seven long years since ‘Zeus ~Legends Never Die~‘, prolonged periods of complete silence made me think the band was done multiple times. However, there finally is a strong fourth studio album in ‘The Pantheon -Age of Heroes-‘.

Once again, the album was recorded with an entirely revamped rhythm section, but since guitarist Hizaki clearly still calls the shots in Jupiter, that has not had much of an effect on the band’s overall sound. Neoclassical, mildly symphonic power metal with a stronger emphasis on riffs than usual is still the main course, and the heavy metal muscle has certainly increased since the arrival of former Concerto Moon singer Atsushi Kuze. ‘The Pantheon -Age of Heroes-‘ is more compact than its predecessors – not in the least because it is ten to fifteen minutes shorter – but that works in its favor.

Not unlike its predecessor, a good portion of ‘The Pantheon -Age of Heroes-‘ could already be heard elsewhere before the album was released. The previously unreleased songs are generally the better ones, especially because most of them deviate slightly from the uptempo Jupiter power metal single formula. However, ‘Ecliptic’ is an exceptional power metal song, and while ‘Breath of Heaven’ failed to impress me much as a standalone single, it actually makes perfect sense within the context of the entire album. ‘My Enemy’ is the best of the previously released songs with its powerful old school hard rock vibe.

Interestingly, ‘Pantheon -Age of Heroes-‘ is the first Jupiter album on which all five band members have contributed to the songwriting somehow. Guitarist Teru’s ‘Guardian’s Requiem’ is classic theatrical power metal, somewhat reminiscent of Volcano‘s most melodic work. Relatively new bassist Cero co-wrote ‘Call’, and it’s one of the album’s darkest, most dynamic songs. New drummer Majyu co-wrote the lyrics to closer ‘Age of Heroes’, which surprisingly is an eighties-style melodic hard rock song that suits Kuze’s voice perfectly. Another highlight is ‘Burn Through Fate’, a fairly traditional heavy metal song by Jupiter standards, featuring an amazing chorus and a fantastic main riff.

‘The Pantheon -Age of Heroes-‘ isn’t perfect. ‘Endless Sky’, while a good song, is not the greatest opener. It feels closer to Hizaki and Teru’s other band Versailles, and the feeling that both that song and the bombastic instrumental ‘Last Ambrosia’ were originally intended for that band is hard to shake. Also, ‘Scorched Earth’ would have been a great song if the death metal influences weren’t crowbarred in. It really comes across as if those are there because every Jupiter album has a melodic death metal track, so they dumped them into what was already the most aggressive song.

As a whole, though, ‘The Pantheon -Age of Heroes-‘ is another excellent Jupiter album. It’s not as bombastic as they used to be, but this is generally a good thing, because it sets them further apart from Versailles and it gives Kuze more space to excel. In addition, Jupiter’s riff quality towers above that of the average visual kei band, so the easier it is to hear them, the better. Anyone looking for power metal with some actual power, great vocals and – even by the band’s own standards – surprisingly varied compositions should give ‘The Pantheon -Age of Heroes-‘ a spin.

Recommended tracks: ‘Burn Through Fate’, ‘Guardian’s Requiem’, ‘Call’

Order ‘The Pantheon -Age of Heroes-‘ from nearly anywhere in the world at CD Japan:

The Pantheon – Age of Heroes –

Jupiter