UMUR "Boldly Stride The Doomed" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US doom/heavy metal act Argus. The album was released through Cruz del Sur music in May 2011. There is a vinyl version available which features two bonus tracks. A cover of "At The Gallows End" by Candlemass and "Róisín Dubh" by Thin Lizzy.

On "Boldly Stride The Doomed" the band play a combination of epic doom metal in the vein of Candlemass and traditional heavy metal. Especially the guitar harmonies remind me of Iron Maiden and there are a couple of galloping rythms too that point in that direction. The busy bass work of Andy Ramage also has Steve Harris (Iron Maiden) written all over it. The band are incredibly well playing, the sound production is powerful and these guys are more than able to write both powerful and memorable material too. As icing on the cake Argus have a both skilled and powerful vocalist in Brian "Butch" Balich. He has a raw singing style but with a melodic sensibility. I assure you the "Butch" in his name isn´t taken out of thin air.

"Boldly Stride The Doomed" is an excellent album to fans of epic doom metal with traditional heavy metal traits. We´re talking a high quality release here and a 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.

J-Man If anyone is curious about how to create kick-ass retro heavy/doom metal in this modern age, Argus is easily one of the first bands I'd recommend taking a listen to. Their decidedly retro sound seamlessly bridges the gap between Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden, resulting in an album that instantly transports the listener back about thirty years in time. Combine their simply awesome stylistic traits with some of the meanest and most interesting classic metal riffs this decade has to offer, and you're immediately in for one hell of a ride! Boldly Stride the Doomed is the second full-length album from these Pennsylvania doomsters, and I can safely declare that Argus has hit a home run with this spectacular effort. Anyone who misses the days when doom metal was at its peak and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal was just beginning should make sure this masterpiece makes it into their collection.

The best way to describe the music here is an odd love child between Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden; expect plenty of mid-to-slow tempo heavy riffs, in addition to quite a few galloping basslines and epic heavy metal compositions. Even though this fusion of traditional heavy metal and doom metal has been done literally hundreds of times, Argus outshines nearly all of their competitors with Boldly Stride the Doomed; despite the fact that this observation is 'retro' in every sense of the word, it still manages to sound fresh, inspired, and new. I think this is mainly due to Argus's tremendous talents as songwriters and musicians. There's hardly a weak moment on this near-55 minute album, and the musicians performing these songs clearly dumped their sweat, blood, and tears into the recording of Boldly Stride the Doomed. Argus is not just a group of well-versed musicians; they're a group of well-versed musicians with the heart and soul that seems to be lacking from most retro-heavy/doom outfits on the scene today.

Boldly Stride the Doomed also sports a warm, seventies-inspired production that suits the music perfectly. The mix finds a spot-on balance between all of the instruments, and I love how the bass is completely audible without ever sounding too overpowering or dominant. Well-made clean productions simply don't come around as often as they should anymore, and I gain instant respect for any producer that can capture that organic seventies' heavy metal sound with such perfection.

Boldly Stride the Doomed is a successful effort in nearly every sense of the word, and I'd consider it an absolute must-have for anybody who gets a kick out of heavy/doom metal. Argus have crafted an album that is more than worthy of the metal community's attention; I sincerely hope that Boldly Stride the Doomed gets them all of the recognition they've rightly earned. I've had an absolute blast while listening to this album, and I have little doubt that fans of Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden will as well. 4.5 stars are warranted for this excellent album. Retro heavy/doom metal just doesn't get much better than this!

adg211288 Boldly Stride The Doomed is the second full-length album by US Heavy/Doom Metal group Argus, released in 2011. The album features ten tracks of music, the first and last of which can be considered intro and outro pieces respectively.

These two pieces (Abandoning The Gates Of Byzantium & The Ruins Of Ouroboros) are very similar, and feature some good acoustic guitar work and fits in perfectly with the overall atmosphere of the record. The outro is pretty much a variant on the intro, featuring some electric lead guitar work over the acoustic passage. Nice stuff, but it’s the eight songs in between these tracks that showcase what a great album Bolding Stride the Doomed is.

As the acoustic intro fades out the second track, A Curse on the World, starts with a drum roll and then launches into a twin guitar attack that tips more than a hat towards the sound made popular by the likes of Iron Maiden, but there are also some more aggressive and heavy riffs early on that bring the band’s doom influences to the fore. The band sounds like Iron Maiden gone Doom Metal. The riffs are really great and carry the song well. Upon first listen it took me a few tracks to get used to the band’s vocalist, Butch Balich, but I had gotten used to his vocals by about half way through the album and could then hear how well they fit with the music that Argus delivers, and I enjoyed the album very much overall based on initial impressions, but it definitely got better with further listening as I become familiar with what to expect from it. Balich’s powerful vocals are distinct and clear and work excellently within both the traditional heavy and doom metal aspects of Argus’ music. Early songs like A Curse on the World and Wolves Of Dusk set the standard for the rest of the album high, and the band manage to keep the quality up to that same standard throughout.

Although the band quickly shows that they have their key elements that make their sound what is it, they also produce an album where all the songs have an identity of their own. This means that Boldly Stride the Doomed never gets boring. Tracks such as the aforementioned A Curse on the World, Wolves of Dusk, and later tracks such as 42-7-29 and the epic eleven minute piece Pieces Of Your Smile all strike me as particular highlights of this very strong album however, though as with any quality release, there’s no track here that you can go wrong with.

Overall with Boldly Stride the Doomed Argus have crafted a near perfect gem of an album that always has me itching to give it another run through just as the closing moments of final track The Ruins Of Ouroboros fade out. It is highly recommended to fans of both traditional heavy and doom metal, especially those who like a twin guitar sound in their metal. A highly recommended 2011 release.

(Review originally written for Heavy Metal Haven, scoring 9.6/10)