[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/373435_2652.jpg]]
->''Set a fire, lock the door.''\\
''We are together to burn forever more.''\\
''Feel the flames swell, kiss your feet.''\\
''We're bound together to writhe forever more.''
-->'''"When Crowns are Shattered"'''

Judicator is an American {{Power Metal}} / {{Speed Metal}} band in the vein of Music/{{Blind Guardian}} with lyrics focusing on important historical figures and literary works. Their first album, ''King of Rome,'' follows the events of UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte in his 100 days campaign, leading up to the climatic Battle of Waterloo. Their second album, ''Sleepy Plessow,'' incorporates elements of {{Progressive Metal}}, and focuses on UsefulNotes/{{Prussia}} and the life of UsefulNotes/FrederickTheGreat. The band was started as a collaboration between vocalist [[TenorBoy John Yelland]] and guitarist/instrumentalist/backing vocalist [[StageNames Tony C]] after they met at a Music/{{Blind Guardian}} concert in 2010. Both musicians are involved in a variety of other bands and projects. In 2014, the band announced that they were going to be adding four new musicians to the group. A bassist, drummer, keyboardist and a second guitarist. They also announced an indigogo campaign to fund their new album. As of 2020, Alicia Cordisco left the band to focus on Project: Roenwolfe and transitioned the following year, but is still very good friends with the rest of them.

!!!Discography
* ''King of Rome'' (Full Length, 2012)
* ''Heroes and Villains'' (Single, 2012)
* ''Wenn Kronen Zerschmettert Sind'' (Single, 2013)
* ''Sleepy Plessow'' (Full Length, 2013)
* ''At the Expense of Humanity'' (Full Length, 2014)
* ''The Last Emperor'' (2018)
* ''Let There Be Nothing'' (2020)
* ''The Majesty of Decay'' (2022)

!!!Band Members
* John Yelland (Disforia, Ex-Shadowseer) - Vocals/Lyrics
* [[Music/{{Exmortus}} Balmore Lemus]] - Guitars
* Jordan Elcess - Drums
* John Dolan - Bass

!!!Guest Musicians
* Bryan Edwards (Ex-Music/SevenKingdoms, Vermiform) - Death/Clean Vocals
* Patrick Parris (Ex-Music/{{Theocracy}}, Music/LascaillesShroud, Project: Roenwolfe) - Vocals
* Chad Anderson (Disforia, Dead Revelator) - Death Vocals, Drum Programming
* Austin Bentley (Disforia) - Vocals
* Alex Hinerman (Koala Combat) - Vocals
* Paul Black (Turned to Stone) - Vocals
* Elizabeth Hall - Vocals
* Tyler Sherill (Steamforged, Music/LascaillesShroud) - Keyboards


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!!Tropes relating to the band and music:
* AffectionateNickname: Judy, [[IncrediblyLamePun Judge Judycator]].
* AnimalMotifs: Both albums include many references to [[CunningLikeAFox the fox]] and [[KingofBeasts the lion]].
* BadassBoast: UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte declares "If you would kill your Emperor, then shoot him now for here I am" in the song "Rising Again" at which point his troops swear loyalty to him with cries of "Vive L'empereur" instead of arresting him.
* BadassBookworm: UsefulNotes/FrederickTheGreat in general. Explicitly touched on in "The Philosopher King".
* BigNo: Several in the chorus of "Memory of Shame".
** Used repeatedly throughout "Blut vom Himmel".
* BilingualBonus: Many of their lyrics are in French or German, providing added context to the story if you know what they mean.
** For a humorous example, the song "Tu N'es Pas Mort, Coquin?" translates to "Are you not dead yet, sexy?" and the song is about Sir Frederick Ponsonby being [[PhallicWeapon impaled by a lance.]]
* BookEnds: ''Sleepy Plessow'' begins and ends with the same acoustic guitar piece.
** The first and last tracks on ''King of Rome'' both make reference to Prometheus at key points.
** "Heroes and Villains" covers many different works of fiction but starts and ends with Literature/{{Beowulf}}.
* ConceptAlbum: ''King of Rome'' is about [[UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte's]] 100 days campaign.
** ''Sleepy Plessow'' is about UsefulNotes/{{Prussia}}, and largely focuses on [[UsefulNotes/FrederickTheGreat Frederick the Great]], his abusive father, and the UsefulNotes/SevenYearsWar.
* CoverVersion: [[Music/BlindGuardian Tommyknockers]].
* DealWithTheDevil: Theatre/DoctorFaustus in "Heroes and Villains".
* DeathOfAChild: Mentioned in "Thirty Years of Terror"
--> ''Children stripped of their clothes and left to die of exposure.''
* DespairEventHorizon: Reached by UsefulNotes/FrederickTheGreat in the song "Sapphire" when his father has his best friend, Hans Hermann von Katte, [[ShootTheDog executed right in front of him.]]
--> ''[[ThisIsUnforgivable By God I will make you all pay!]]''
* TheDragon: Marshall Ney is this to UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte in ''King of Rome''.
* DownerEnding: ''King of Rome'' ends with the song "Elan" which details [[UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte Napoleon's]] defeat at the [[FinalBattle Battle of Waterloo]] and return to exile.
* TheExile: UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte in ''King of Rome''... twice!
* EpicRocking: "Elan" "Heroes and Villains" and "Blut vom Himmel" all push the 12 minute mark.
* FinalBattle: The Battle of Waterloo in ''King of Rome'' where UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte suffers his final defeat.
* FollowInMyFootsteps: For both Napoleon and his son in the TitleTrack of ''King of Rome''.

--> ''I was a slave to what my family forged.''
--> ''Thoughts of my son, I will not fail him now.''
--> ''I'll pass the light, give him all the might.''
--> ''He'll be the, the [[TitleDrop King of Rome.]]''
** What Frederick the Great's father wants for him.
* AGoodWayToDie: UsefulNotes/FrederickTheGreat in "Sans Souci".
--> ''I [[GoOutWithASmile smile]] to myself and think of all I've done.''
--> ''This is a death which I can live with.''
--> ''I rest my weary head and sleep.''
* HarshVocals: Used frequently by guest vocalists as both lead and backing parts. Used occasionally by Alicia during her time in the band.
* HeroAntagonist: UsefulNotes/{{The Duke Of Wellington}} in ''King of Rome''. Given a {{Sympathetic POV}} in "Backs Against the Wall" and "The Iron Duke".
* HorribleHistoryMetal: Pretty much the M.O. of this band.
* IAmNotMyFather: Continually touched on in UsefulNotes/{{Frederick The Great}}'s story arc in ''Sleepy Plessow''.
* IAmSong: "When Crowns Are Shattered"
--> ''I am the guardian to the Prussian claim of life!''
* LonelyPianoPiece: The middle section of "Elan" comes to a lone piano piece at a point in the song where Napoleon is alone, injured, and retreating.
* MetalScream: You can bet when a song reaches its climax, John Yelland will top it off with one of these.
* NonAppearingTitle: "Heroes and Villains" "Release Me" "Sans Souci" and "The Iron Duke"
* OhCrap: In "Blut vom Himmel" when the Prussians are overwhelmed by a greatly superior enemy force coming over the hill.
--> ''You see the masses, don't lose your mind. We have to flee into the fray.''
* PowerBallad: "The Iron Duke" "Sapphire" and "Sea of Fire"
* PowerMetal: Of the speedier/thrashier variety on ''King of Rome'', and much more traditional/melodic on ''Sleepy Plessow''.
* PyrrhicVictory: How UsefulNotes/{{the Duke of Wellington}} views his victory over Napoleon in "The Iron Duke".
--> ''All that I've left behind''

--> ''All that I've sacrificed
''
--> ''Never I'll fight again
''
--> ''Blood is too high a price

''
* SelfBackingVocalist: John Yelland takes this trope up to eleven on a regular basis throughout ''Sleepy Plessow''.
* UsefulNotes/SevenYearsWar: The subject of "Blut Vom Himmel".
--> ''Seven years we've fought and failed to win.''
--> ''And seven more will come to pass if you don't [[KnowWhenToFoldEm learn to yield]].''
* ShoutOut: The album cover of ''King of Rome'', as well as the chorus lyrics of "The Iron Duke", are a shout out to Colorado {{Power Metal}} band Music/{{Vacant Throne}}.
--> ''Staring at Vacant Thrones of my kin.''
** The name Judicator is a shout out to the the eponymous Star Destroyer in Literature/{{The Thrawn Trilogy}}.
** Theatre/{{Julius Caesar}} is referenced in "Backs Against the Wall".
--> ''Let's let slip the dogs of war!''
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: Somewhat rare for power metal, they can lean heavily towards the cynical side, often taking it up to eleven to drive home the ever-present WarIsHell theme.
--> ''But in this [[CrapsackWorld world of abuse and decay]], nobody is innocent anyway.''
** However, sometimes a little [[HopeSpot hope]] shines through and the scale slides back the other way. ''Sleepy Plessow'' in particular ends on a rather accomplished/proud/positive note after all the horrors UsefulNotes/FrederickTheGreat goes through in the story.
--> ''Despite waves of sorrow, one must hold onto life.''
--> ''In war and times of hunger, you must hold onto them.''
* SongOfSongTitles: "Sea of Fire" mentions "Journey Through the Dark" by Music/BlindGuardian.
* SopranoAndGravel: Many guest vocalists use {{Black Metal}} and {{Death Metal}} vocals in tandem with John Yelland's tenor and falsetto vocals. Additionally, Alicia will occasionally use {{Thrash Metal}} vocals.
* SpokenWordInMusic: Used in "The Elector" "Thirty Years of Terror" "Wenn Kronen zerschmettert sind" "When Crowns are Shattered" "Gedenkstätte" and frequently in "Heroes and Villains".
* UsefulNotes/ThirtyYearsWar: The subject of "Thirty Years of Terror" and touched on in "Memory of Shame".
* WarIsHell: A common theme in most of the songs. "Blut vom Himmel" and "Sea of Fire" particularly explore this in context of the UsefulNotes/SevenYearsWar.
* {{Workaholic}}: Both Alicia and John. Alicia was in at least four other active bands/projects at one point (though Project: Roenwolfe is her only current one), John is also the frontman of Disforia, both regularly do guest and producer work for other bands, and both help run an indie management/label company, in addition to their day jobs. Judicator itself puts out releases fairly often, their first two full length albums only being separated by about seven months. They like to [[{{Understatement}} stay busy]].
* TheXOfY: "Into the Sea of Bayonets" "King of Rome" "Thirty Years of Terror" "Memory of Shame" and "Sea of Fire"
* YouShallNotPass: "Elan"
--> ''

Il ne passeront pas, we shall never yield!''
** In "Blut vom Himmel" the lyrics reference an instance from the UsefulNotes/SevenYearsWar where UsefulNotes/FrederickTheGreat threw his sword into the ground and declared none would pass that point even if it meant his death.
--> ''I plunge my sword into the ground and make a stand. Even if I die, I'll fight alone.''
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''"I REST MY WEARY HEAD AND SLEEEEEEEEEEEEP!"''
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