When last we saw the mighty power metal heroes of Angus McSix, they were a fledgling group with a noble aim and a mighty quest: the titular starlord offered promises of adventure and whimsy, with epic aims and a glorious future that had nothing whatsoever to do with Gloryhammer, thank you for asking. Angus McSix could do no wrong on his epic trajectory. Then Thomas Winkler (vocals and the titular Angus McSix) opted to leave the band after their debut, so now McSix’s brother Adam (Samuel Nyman, Manimal) will lead in his stead. So that was a surprise. Still, I have nothing against a new hero, so, like Adam himself, I’m happy to roll with the punches and see what Angus McSix have up their sleeves for their descriptively-titled sophomore, Angus McSix and the All-Seeing Astral Eye.
Unsurprisingly, the core of the Angus McSix sound is pretty much the same. Nyman even sounds uncannily like Winkler on vocals, and the band’s approach to “join our D&D session, the drinks are already here” metal is largely unchanged. It’s a fairly open session too; joining Angus McSix are Rhapsody of Fire (“I Am Adam McSix”), Van Canto (“Dig Down”), Turmion Kätilöt (“Techno Men”), and Freedom Call (“The Power of Metal”).1 Winkler himself makes a brief appearance in opener “6666” for just long enough to say “help me brother, for I am trapped in a block of ice”2 and pass the torch to Adam. It’s a big number3 too, with exactly the kind of over-the-top, bombastic chorus and structure that made Angus McSix and the Sword of Power such a great album. It seems at first that Angus McSix has not missed a step; they pick up exactly where they left off, which is fine by me.
Unfortunately, the rest of the album is not so consistent, with the songwriting oscillating between classic Angus McSix and shakier ground. In particular, the guitars are pushed way back in the mix. The keyboards are similarly brought way up, and, in contrast to the previous album, focused on synths rather than orchestrations, giving several songs a vague ’00s-dance-pop-meets-power-metal feel. “Techno Men,” for example, plays to the industrial metal feel the Turmion Kätilöt singers bring to the song. The chorus, however, is classic Angus McSix, with Nyman singing his heart out on catchy vocal melodies this band does so well. Still, without a strong guitar presence—and the drums don’t pack much punch either, I’m sad to say—a lot of Angus McSix and the All-Seeing Astral Eye feels passive. “I Am Adam McSix” and “Dig Down” are good examples of this; in both songs, Angus McSix slow things down a bit, but only the latter one brings the energy needed to maintain an adventurous feel. This poppier Angus McSix can be a little hit-or-miss.
One of said misses was really unexpected: contrary to their debut, it feels like Angus McSix are trying to be funny. Many of the narrations are intentionally silly; at one point, a narrator describes Adam’s aims as “utterly impossible,” “even more impossible,” and “all in all, a rather questionable plan, except it wasn’t even a plan” (this all from “The Power of Metal,” an otherwise strong song that would be at home on an Avantasia record). Songs like “Ork Zero” embrace the inherent silliness of Angus McSix’s storytelling without overtly acknowledging it and largely succeed; when they do, it falls flat. I love the story of the uber-ork with a heart of gold, but why do Van Canto comment of Adam, “honestly, his tune is really catchy”? Does the phrase “orkish mumbo jumbo” have to appear at all? These feel like unneeded distractions from a group that actually does storytelling fairly well.4
There are great moments and baffling moments on Angus McSix and the All-Seeing Astral Eye. I strongly believe we need more fun in metal and adore Angus McSix for their success in that department. But I feel they missed a step here, leaning too far away from solid songwriting and too much into on-the-nose humor. I remain fully in Angus—and Adam—McSix’s corners, and will be back for the next chapter. But I hope things will feel more like they did back in the day.
Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: NA | Format Reviewed: Crappy STREAM!
Label: Napalm Records
Websites: angusmcsix.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/angusmcsix
Releases Worldwide: March 13th, 2026
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