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Vast Reaches Unclaimed is the debut from Majesties, a melodic death metal band from Minneapolis, Minnesota in the frozen Midwestern United States. There must be some similarities between that part of the country and Scandinavia because if you didn’t know, it would be easy to assume this is from the eastern side of the Atlantic. Anyway, harsh vocals co-mingle with big power chords and melodic keyboards, and everything sounds great, exactly what you might expect. I find the sound to lean more to the harsh side, say Amon Amarth, versus the more melodic side, like Insominum, but fans of both camps will probably find Vast Reaches Unclaimed to their liking. The biggest knock for me is the songwriting, which isn’t overly distinctive, and one song sounds a lot like the next. Nevertheless, it is an entertaining and ass-kicking album that delivers what the fans expect.