Black Bishop by Maestro: Review

by Gabe Finch March 13, 2023

March 13, 2023

Black Bishop by Maestro: Review

The Dutch melodic rock/metal band Maestro gives the listeners a glimpse of their upcoming album with a song that they have written back in the 80s, ‘Maestro’.

The song was recorded as a demo back in 1989 and covered by the Dutch underground cult metal band Vortex in 2003. Now Maestro finally made a studio version of the song that the fans were longing for. Soaring vocals, fast-paced riffs, gritty guitars, and hard-hitting drums, this song about chess has all the 80s metal staples.

Starting with the sound of a timer clock ticking, the listeners are greeted with a gritty, heavy guitar riff and a soaring scream setting the tone of the song. The guitar riff is very energetic and sends a wave of energy making you want to get up and start headbanging. The dynamic vocals have that classic raw 80s metal tone. The theme of the song revolves around chess and its moves. Tell you what, being one of the oldest games in the world with the rules being unchanged for centuries that is universally agreed as being sophisticated and intelligent is not the most metal thing in the world, I don’t know what is. Pair that with some heavy, distorted guitars, soaring vocals that can be heard from across the road, and a face-melting guitar solo, you have yourself a treat. From the production standpoint, the song sounds like a classic 80s. If somebody handed me their headphones playing this song without telling me this was released this year, I would’ve guessed this is an 80s song I’ve never heard. If you’re a fan of Rainbow, Dio, Queensryche, Poison, or Deep Purple, you’re gonna love it!