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Victory: Gods Of Tomorrow
 When you consider the legends of German hard rock and heavy metal the names Accept, Scorpions and Helloween will inevitably spring to mind, but not far behind those titans are german rock veterans Victory. Having formed all the way back in 1984 they have also seen their share of arenas and commercial success. The original line-up fronted by ex-Accept guitarist Herman Frank last dropped an album way back in 2011 with their album Don’t Talk Science. Having the band somewhat shelved in the intervening years did not however sit well with Herman Frank and so he reconstituted the band with a fresh line-up of hard hitting talent consisting of vocalist Gianni Pontillo, guitarist Mike Pesin, Malte Frederik Burkert on bass and drummer Michael Stein. Together they have delivered up the next chapter in the band's long career punctuated by the release of Gods Of Tomorrow.
Musically you can definitely hear the pedigree straight away. This comes straight out of the playbook of hard rock legends like Accept or AC/DC. The no mess no fuss, direct punch to guts and kick to the face approach that is all too familiar to those bands is in full effect here. Gods Of Tomorrow kicks off with a three pronged attack with the opener “Love Hate” and followed by the title track and then “Cut To The Bone”. The pace drops down a touch with the somewhat balladish “Dying in Your Arms” but the overall feel is still strong and confident and with some meat left on the bone. “Hold On To Me” brings us back to the hard rocking, conjuring up the image of some Hell’s Angels hanging in a seedy bar somewhere with some less than wholesome women. Again the Brian Johnson era AC/DC vibe is strong here. “Into the light” fires it up further, this time closer to 80’s metal territory in a mix of Judas Priest and Accept styles. Gods Of Tomorrow continues to move between these variants while also at times throwing in some slower almost 90’s groove metal/rock riffs and even touching on the modern Uriah Heep sound as well. The occasional group vocal chorus is thrown in for good measure to make sure all the ingredients are present and correct. My only complaint about this album is that at times it feels a little too safe in the formula. But it's a minor gripe because for the most part the formula works well here.
Victory are certainly not bringing anything new or revolutionary to the table here. But they are giving us a classic hard rock , heavy metal album that scratches the itch when craving that classic sound from the late 70’s and through the 80’s. The band plays hard and true and the production has a great organic feel that will appeal to the hard rock and heavy metal purists. This album is recommended to fans of the bands mentioned above as well as classic rock and heavy metal in general.
Victory:
Herman Frank- Guitar
Gianni Pontillo-Vocals
Mike Pesin-Guitar
Malte Frederik Burkert-bass
Michael Stein- Drummer
Tracklisting:
1. Love Hate
2. Gods Of Tomorrow
3. Cut To The Bone
4. Dying In Your Arms
5. Hold On To Me
6. Into The Light
7. Mad
8. Unconditional Love
9. My Own Desire
10. On Fire
11. Rising Force
12. In Rock We Trust
13. Leave You Alone
Added: August 10th 2022
Reviewer: Benjamin Dudai
Score: 
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 1583
Language: english
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Victory: Gods Of Tomorrow
Posted by Michael Popke, SoT Staff Writer on 2022-08-10 18:59:27
My Score:
Some bands age well, and that is certainly the case with Germany’s Victory, which has a history dating back to 1984. Sure, members come and go -- must notably vocalist Charlie Huhn (who’s also played with Foghat, Ted Nugent and Axel Rudi Pell) -- but Gods of Tomorrow proves that Victory is still winning.The album mostly plays it safe with straightforward, tried-and-true German heavy metal, which obviously is riff-tastically influenced by Scorpions and Accept. But these songs don’t come off as stale. If anything, Victory’s reconstituted and rejuvenated lineup sounds fresher than many of its counterparts. There are a few surprises along the way, too: “Dying In Your Arms Tonight” could have been included on Journey’s new album, while the soaring and majestic “Mad” sounds nothing like the title suggests. That said, this is pretty much what you expect (and maybe even a little better). If that’s what you’re in the mood for, Gods of Tomorrow will certainly do the trick today.
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Victory: Gods Of Tomorrow
Posted by Steven Reid, SoT Staff Writer on 2021-12-11 17:55:41
My Score:
In essence when German veterans Victory announced their return, it was actually the return of Herman Frank (ex-Accept/ex-Sinner/solo) and four other guys who had never been in the studio with Victory before. Frank’s fellow guitarist Mike Pesin joined the ranks in 2019 along with The Order singer Giani Pontillo, whereas David Reece bassist Malte Burkert and drummer Mike Stein are even more recent recruits, with both becoming victors in 2021.
Thankfully, however, what could have been seen as a clear attempt to cash-in on this long respected band’s name proves to be anything but, the classic rock/metal hybrid that Victory made their name with firmly in place as Frank sidelines the slightly heavier attack of his solo work for an 80s hard rock flavour that still tastes delightful. The riffs are huge, catchy as hell and they hit thick and fast, but even with that in mind it’s Pontillo who really steals the show, an attack that lands somewhere between Sammy Hagar and David Glen Eisley absolutely perfect for the hard hit of “Love Hate” and the catchy guitar fuelled “Cut To The Bone”. In fact, the only question that you’re left asking about this frontman once he’s proved that he too can completely master the slower paced “Dying In Your Arms”, is why on earth didn’t we all know about him already?
With “Into The Light” a rip-roaring twin-axe romp-along, “Unconditional Love” not quite the lighter waver that you presume it might be and “In Rock We Trust” exactly the upbeat but mid-paced thumper its name suggests, all the bases are covered and without any of what are, in reality, some well worn ideas losing any of their appeal. After all, Gods Of Tomorrow has absolutely no intention of re-writing any of the long established hard rock rule books and in all honesty, it’s all the better for it.
Victory are back and Victory mean business!
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