How I came to hear about the band Cryonic Temple has been lost in the midst of metal time, but I remember thinking that any band with such a bold mantle as that has to be worth half an hour of my time. I felt 2002's Blood, Guts And Glory was solid if unspectacular power metal. It wasn't until my grubby mitts clasped 2005's In Thy Power that Cryonic Temple became a metal favourite. Since then the title track, Beast Slayer and Shark Attack have not only become a staple diet of my MP3 player but also mini anthems to my circle of friends. One could argue that the band didn't take themselves too seriously. Any band who could get away with such lyrics as I'm alone in this dark world. It's me, my guns and my trusted wolf, must have their tongue firmly in their cheeks, surely. But then again, who cares about the words when the music is great?

Since then the band have almost imploded. The six piece has been trimmed to a five piece and the only surviving members are the two guitarists Ahonen and Collin. In essence this is a different band to one that created In Thy Power, and this is the first hurdle you have to get over when you listen to Immortal. It has the feel of Cryonic Temple and even some of the licks and lead runs are very familiar, but this is a more serious and focused Cryonic Temple. The keyboards have been put into stasis, the songs with metal in the title have been omitted and the new singer just isn't Glen Metal.

Of the newly thawed out members vocalist Magnus Thurin has the unenviable job of replacing Mr Metal whose voice simply soared over the band's previous albums. In all fairness he does a great job and sounds right at home on tracks such as Immortal and lead video Standing Tall. His tone is slightly deeper allowing the band's more metal influences to seep through. This epitomises the album as a whole because Immortal, although steeped in power metal, does languish in heavier territory on more than a couple of occasions. Beg Me, Fear Of The Rage and Fight To Survive certainly contain that new Cryonic edge, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Fans will lap up Where Sadness Never Rests and Train Of Destruction because these songs have that Cryonic Temple signature sounds and would happily sit anywhere in their discography.

I'm still deciding whether Immortal is a disappointing follow on from In Thy Power or just different. Hopefully, when the I've become used to the new sounding Cryonic Temple, Immortal will be a more enjoyable listen and I'll be able to make up my mind. It sounds like a band finding their feet after being almost out for the count because there are few moments on here which should have been left on the studio computer's hard drive. Freedom Calling is a weak number lacking any real sparkle, Time suffers from that recycle feel and As I Sleep is one of those acoustic style ballads that power metal bands have notoriously been shoddy at. It could be argued that their previous albums have such moments, but it wasn't until Immortal that I wanted to purposefully skip a track.

Although not the strongest album in their discography there's enough in Immortal to satisfy the Cryonic Temple fan. There's definite progression into heavier areas and, thankfully, the band have only explored rather than dived in head first. All I can suggest that if you're a fan then give this a chance and see if you like the new sound, but before you do just give thanks that the band are still going at all. Amen to that.