Broken Dagger
Madness Approaching

March 2005
Released: 2004, Independent
Rating: 2.5/5
Reviewer: Waspman

Broken Dagger are a bunch of Swedish fellows joined together by the power of metal…or something. They never actually claim that in a bio or anything, but that’s just the feeling you get, the second you look at the name, cover art (badly super-imposed soldiers in a forest), and song titles of this most traditional of traditional metal bands. The band formed in 2000 and put out the INTO MADNESS demo fairly quickly. MADNESS APPROACHING (recorded in early 2004) is their second album, a full 9 tracks and 55 minutes of pure power metal.

Unfortunately for the band, that 55 minutes feels like it takes 4 or 5 hours, as the band drag out tedious cliché after tedious cliché, all without really showing any flair for creativity. They admittedly play with passion (a refreshing trait in comparison to many of the too-polished and clinical power metal bands out there today), but the music is just not up to par. Likewise, vocalist Niklas Olausson sings with conviction and gusto, but doesn’t have the voice to rank with the Dickinsons or even Leones of the world.

Not all is wasted however, as the band manage to work up a convincing froth on more aggressive songs like “By Blood and Right”, “The Way of the Crown” and the downright catchy “Traces of Pain”. Still, there just isn’t enough quality meat on the bones of this beast to make it a worthwhile addition to a discerning fan’s collection. It is certainly a good starting point but for now, I can’t fully recommend Broken Dagger.