Let me start by saying I love Utah-based progressive power metal band Judicator, even more so after seeing them live for the first time last year at Mile High Power Fest (and sadly missing them at Epic Fest last month). John Yelland’s voice is incredible and carries an anthemic quality about it that just makes the earworm hooks the band is known for even hookier, and the musicianship is always stellar with intriguing musical concepts in every song. After the big sound shift from 2020’s “Let There Be Nothing” to 2022’s “The Majesty of Decay” (from more power to more prog), I was curious what to expect from their latest 2025 release, “Concord.” It continues to evolve their sound but definitely returns to more of the power metal roots in their earlier catalog, though the influences from “Decay” are there, melded into the power metal foundation. Lyrically this is a return to the historical concept focus of their earlier albums, with a focus on the Wild West, making it a bit unique in the power metal genre. The songs are big, head bang and singalong inducing, and musically satisfying, with plenty of guitar solos, powerful drumming, incredible vocals, and a number of surprises.

A cool acoustic guitar driven melody kicks off “Call Us Out of Slumber,” building and adding layers for a really slick big sounding intro, before transitioning into a power metal gallop. The song does a good job leveraging various melodies and guitar leads to keep things flowing, providing a great base alongside the driving drums for Yelland’s anthemic voice. The chorus will get stuck in your head, as will the guitar solos in the back half of the song. Rather than going for over the top, they almost feel like another voice, and the guitar harmonies are killer. “Sawtooth” has a big epic feel, matching the tone of the lyrics. The vocal lines throughout are memorable along with an absolute earworm of a chorus that I could see a live audience all singing together to, and the guitar work is just terrific and solo-tastic.

“Johannah’s Song” changes the pace up and feels like it could have been on “State of Decay,” with its slower proggier feel, but some of the more straightforward riffing and the late guitar solo bring in a bit of a throwback feel.

“A Miracle of Life” throws you back into the fray and hearkens back to the Blind Guardian-esque thrashy speed power that Judicator cut their teeth on, blazing ahead until late in the 3 minute block. You get a great guitar solo, a near stop with some slapping bass, and then an absolutely epic saxophone solo that fits so perfectly you won’t know what just hit you. Judicator has plenty of ability to experiment and show off their proggy side, and they do it very well. This song is an easy favorite.

“Weeping Willow” keeps you on your toes by melding power, prog, and symphonic elements. The song has a big cinematic feel, makes great use of dynamic contrast, and again has a chorus melody that will get stuck in your brain. “Imperial” continues to mix things up, starting out like old school metal, but with a pervasive thrashy prog feel. Vocally you get Yelland’s trademark cleans along with some thrashier shouts and gang vocals. Many frontiers are explored, from an early black metal-like blastbeat barrage, to melodic proggy sections that remind of “State of Decay”, to older school Maiden-esque harmonized guitar solos, and of course that thrashy underbelly.

“Hold Your Smile” has a subdued acoustic driven intro before opening things up. It brings back some of the light symphonic elements we heard earlier in the album, giving it a cinematic feel. It is slow-paced while being big and heavy, with great guitar leads and an anthemic chorus.

The title track starts as a speedy power metal blazer, settles into a proggier power pace, surprises you with a Judicator choir halfway through, has killer guitar melodies and solos, and an absolutely earworm chorus. The album closes with the 8-minute opus “Blood Meridian,” a darker song exploring the ugly side of the Wild West. It has a big epic feel and does a fabulous job with dynamic and tempo contrast, spinning a musical web consisting of many strings that twist and turn in myriad ways. Big anthemic vocals, fabulous harmonies, speedy sections juxtaposed against slower atmospheric sections, power meets prog meets thrash meets musicality. And then it ends with a bluegrass diddy featuring a banjo! It does a great job blending all the things Judicator does well, yet offering it in a different way, closing out an incredible album.

I love seeing Judicator’s evolution as they form their own version of prog power, and this album is a testament to that. I look forward to hearing these songs live!

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