{"id":597579,"date":"2026-04-21T12:56:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T12:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/597579\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T12:56:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T12:56:08","slug":"victorius-world-war-dinosaur-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/597579\/","title":{"rendered":"Victorius – World War Dinosaur Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Look at that cover. It looks like the sort of neon-drenched fever dream burst straight from the mind of an unmedicated, hyperactive toddler whose special interests are cyborg dinosaurs and laser-wielding ninjas that promises the sort of maximalist, power cheese pungent enough to stink up any room. Luckily for us, German fromagers Victorius have been honing their brand of hook-forward, Saturday-morning-cartoon power metal for years. Their 7th album, World War Dinosaur, is a continuation of the band\u2019s deeply unserious \u201cspace ninjas vs. holy dinosaurs\u201d storyline showcased on records like Dinosaur Warfare \u2013 Legend of the Power Saurus<\/a>, Space Ninjas From Hell,and Dinosaur Warfare Pt. 2 \u2013 The Great Ninja War. I\u2019m all for ridiculous imagery and album concepts, as long as they don\u2019t overshadow the compositions themselves. Can Victorius manage to avoid being crushed under the weight of their own cheese?<\/p>\n

On World War Dinosaur, Victorius demonstrates a seasoned knack for crafting straightforward, yet satisfying, dinosaur-themed power metal bangers. The band\u2019s execution of their over-the-top subject matter is less garish than one might expect, eschewing lengthy spoken-word sections or lore-heavy character backstories in favor of poppy power metal with dinosaur-specific hooks. Tracks are fast-paced and built around the tried-and-true power formula of hyper-melodic guitar\/synth hooks over galloping drums, with huge, festival-ready singalong choruses, and Victorius are masters at transitioning seamlessly between the expected sections. It\u2019s easy to get lost in the Galneryus-esque haze of dino rippers on songs like \u201cRaptor Squad Attack,\u201d \u201cBrachio Bazooka Battalion,\u201d and \u201cDino Power Resistance,\u201d which fully lean into their concept. There\u2019s a simple joyousness to be had in listening to well-executed, catchy power metal, and it\u2019s only made more fun by the blatantly absurd subject matter.<\/p>\n

Luckily, Victorius aren\u2019t just coasting on a dumb (read: brilliant) gimmick; they actually play like a band that\u2019s been around the block. Vocalist David Bassin, who\u2019s sounded a bit weightless<\/a> in the past, finally shows up swinging. Here, he sounds confident and inspired, helped by stacked vocal harmonies and gang shouts, which appropriately heighten big moments. Bassin\u2019s soaring tenor absolutely shines while belting out ludicrous lines on ridiculous choruses (\u201cWorld War Dinosaur,\u201d \u201cDino Race From Outer Space), leading the charge and treating the \u201cdino vs. ninja\u201d subject matter as if his life depended on it. Beyond the choruses, it\u2019s the truly infectious non-vocal melodic lines that stand out on repeated listens. Guitarists Dirk Scharsich and Flo serve up sharp, memorable leads that weave throughout the songs, with the opening fanfare of \u201cKingdom of the Strong\u201d and \u201cLost Legacy\u201d serving as highlights. Throw in the usual bombastic orchestration and gloriously tacky synth work, and suddenly these compositions coalesce into something that\u2019s still sugary and familiar, but hit just a bit harder than your typical middling power metal.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I only wish World War Dinosaur saw Victorius take more musical and conceptual risks. Every song is in the 3-4 minute range, and nearly all of them follow the tried and true power metal formula. There are some mid-tempo cuts like \u201cEvil Mean Megalodon\u201d about a cybernetic shark\/submarine of all things, but most tracks feel incredibly similar. This extends to the concept as well, which seems to exist primarily as dinosaur-covered wrapping paper over some standard power metal lyrics about war and battles. There seems to be very little about the actual dinosaur-ninja war as promised, with no narrative progression present, just several songs about dinosaur war units (\u201cRaptor Squad Attack,\u201d \u201cBrachio Bazooka Battalion,\u201d \u201cPrehistoric Panzer Power\u201d), one song about laser ninjas (\u201cLazer Ninja Thunderstorm\u201d) and a vague conclusion about \u201cfighting forever\u201d (\u201cLost Legacy\u201d). None of this really detracts from the fun, chorus-focused power metal on display, but it does feel like a minor missed opportunity to elevate the record beyond the sum of its parts.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, World War Dinosaur is a well-crafted, entertaining and incredibly campy slab of power metal. Victorius aren\u2019t charting particularly novel territory, but they\u2019re clearly familiar with the elements that make this style so enjoyable and the over-the-top concept helps to make the whole package more exciting. For those in search of some accessible power cheese to brighten their day, look no further.<\/p>\n

\ufeff<\/p>\n

Rating: Good!
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Perception Records<\/a>
Websites: victoriusmetal.net<\/a> | facebook.com\/victoriusmetal<\/a>
Releases Worldwide: April 17th, 2026<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Look at that cover. It looks like the sort of neon-drenched fever dream burst straight from the mind…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":597580,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[54639,20792,248509,88,260409,260410,59898,25605,216,260411,91422,245124,899,900,260412,260413],"class_list":{"0":"post-597579","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-54639","9":"tag-3-0","10":"tag-apr26","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-epic-metal","13":"tag-galneryus","14":"tag-german-metal","15":"tag-heavy-metal","16":"tag-music","17":"tag-perception-records","18":"tag-power-metal","19":"tag-reigning-phoenix-music","20":"tag-review","21":"tag-reviews","22":"tag-victorius","23":"tag-world-war-dinosaur"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=597579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597579\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/597580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=597579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=597579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=597579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}