Australia's high decibel Metal scene is subject to certain rules. Because of the immense distance many of the hundreds of promising newcomers on the Australian scene never make it across the pond. This of course also has disadvantages for metal fans because the Oz scene is bubbling with great bands with enormous talent. The few combos who do manage to make the trip to Europe are a huge enhancement for the European scene. BLACK MAJESTY is one such band and, with four albums under their belt, have proved that groups from down under can easily match themselves against their colleagues of the Old World and enjoy an ever-growing number of fans of their own. Melodic Power Metal is nothing new these days, but it is the little things such as an innate knack for musical finesses, which raises a band from the rest of the scene. On their fifth album "Stargazer", the Australians clearly show that they have no intention of standing still. Superb Power Metal with lots of melodies, finely spun prog elements and a huge portion of sheer joy and unbroken enthusiasm are the chief characteristics of "Stargazer". As self-confident as they were on their previous albums, BLACK MAJESTY are looking forward to a new step in their creativity. BLACK MAJESTY originally went by the name of Kymera but changed the name to BLACK MAJESTY after their first line-up change. At the same time they began writing the songs for their debut album, "Sands Of Time" which was released two years later. The album leaned in the prog direction in the style of Queensryche and attracted the attention of Limb Music Products, who placed BLACK MAJESTY under contract. "Sands Of Time" hit Europe like a hammer and the band quickly found itself amongst the top newcomers of the year. Encouraged by this success they played live shows and then began work on the follow-up album. 2005 saw the release of "Silent Company", on which they left the progressive path and moved into the faster lane of driving, melodic Power Metal. Drummer Pavel Konvalinka recorded his drum parts for this album in Germany at Piet Sielck's (Iron Savior), whilst the rest of the band recorded their tracks with Endel Rivers in Melbourne. To promote the album's release, BLACK MAJESTY played their first European shows, amongst them festivals alongside Edguy and Hammerfall. Then it was back home for a tour with Dragonforce and Nevermore. "Tomorrowland" was released in 2007, its style following that of its predecessor but their special elements were intensified. Once again they had the chance to play live in Europe. Beside solo shows they were invited to play at renowned festivals such as the Wacken Open-Air, the Masters of Rock in the Czech Republic and the Metal Universe Festival in Slovakia. The album strengthened the foundation of BLACK MAJESTY's reputation and the feedback from the press and fans was overwhelmingly positive. After returning home they seized at the chance to tour with Helloween and a little later with Saxon. It is worth mentioning that, during all this time, BLACK MAJESTY never had a bass player of their own, instead relying on bass-playing mates for studio works, tours and headliner shows. This also applied to their fourth album, "In Your Honour", released in 2010 and which many fans agreed was the Australians' most creative work until then. The work made it absolutely clear that BLACK MAJESTY were amongst the best Power Metal bands ever to have travelled from the world's youngest continent. They played numerous live shows, supporting the ex-Iron Maiden singer, Paul DiAnno on his Australian tour, and Edguy on theirs. They headlined the Bla Bla Bla Festival in Jakarta before travelling to Europe again on tour. 2010 was a busy year for the band from Melbourne and there was no respite. In Spring 2011 they released a music video of "Further Than Insane" from the "In Your Honour" album and supported Blind Guardian on their Australian tour. Straight after that they began working on their fifth BLACK MAJESTY album in the Grapow Studios in Slovakia and in Melbourne. Once again they worked with Roland Grapow (Masterplan), who had been responsible for such an impressive sound on the band's previous albums. On their fifth album BLACK MAJESTY celebrate an impressive mixture of all the unforgettable elements of its predecessors. In a more than worthy manner, "Stargazer" follows the musical line of the highly-praised "In Your Honour". Roland Grapow has again given the album a transparent, crystal clear mix, which even manages to enhance the great hymns by the Australians. The fast opener, "Falling" makes it clear that the high quality of the previous album has been taken a step further. The Janevski/Mohamed guitar duo lays down a thick foundation which the highly melodic voice of the band's exceptional singer, John Cavaliere uses to further advance his innate skill. The riffing is enough to crack walnuts - classical riff attacks drive the songs forwards without overlooking the lines of the melody. The balladesque start of "Symphony Of Death" and the dense atmosphere created by it, is just foreplay for one of the album's highlights. Its galloping mid-tempo rhythm makes a strong mark on the track and is topped by the incredible voice of John Cavaliere. It is a hymn to the gods of metal! The slighty speedy title track is a ticking bomb despite its large portion of melody and it has an unforgettable chorus - pure Metal! On "Stargazer" BLACK MAJESTY demonstrate all the aspects of their unmistakable style and make an impressive statement on the subject of melodic Power Metal. The German edition of the album has a bonus track, "Shine" beside the nine regular tracks. "Shine" is replaced by "Ariel" on the Australian issue and by "Lycan" on the Japanese edition. Once again the band worked together with Dirk Illing, known from his work for Scorpions etc, for the concept and the design of the cover. Illing has done his work well and has given the album the perfect look.