Truth be told, Power Metal has not been at the top of my radar for some time now. At some point last year I crossed that mental border that reduced it from my go to genre to “god, I know I have heard this before” status. Yet even now, I still randomly buy albums from an infinite supply of “new” groups, hoping to rekindle that passion I felt listening to Sonata Arctica’s Ecliptica or Kamelot’s Karma. Though there have certainly been eyebrow raising attempts, none have been successful in achieving that same level of enjoyment. Hailing from Germany, enter Solar Fragment’s In Our Hands, a follow up to their 2007 debut A Spark of Deity (which I have not listened to). In Our Hand’s is a concept album based on some cliche story about saving the world from evil, and though it gives me a great run for my money it ultimately falls squarely into the “been there done that” zone.

This is not a bad album. It is actually quite good, with all of the Power Metal pre-requisites you would expect from an upper tier band. Production is clear and strong, musicianship is good (though not outstanding), and vocals are well done in all of their Hansi Kursch worship glory. In fact, the selling factor for me on this album was that it prominently displayed Hansi as a guest vocalist, though only on Inside the Circle. The greatest strength of this album is that it sounds like well done Blind Guardian worship, though not nearly as bombastic, but then again that leads us back to the aforementioned feeling of retreading familiar territory. Individual tracks certainly stand out from the pack. The opener In Our Hands kicks things off with flair, and Inside the Circle is catchy as hell. Come Hell or High Water is another strong moment, and Homecoming is the best track on the album. Remaining songs are generally well done, though nothing to write home about.

In Our Hands is a fine Power Metal offering, but unfortunately it does not do enough to separate itself from any of the other acts out there and falls into too many cliches. This is more of a symptom of the genre than the band itself, and Power Metal enthusiasts will probably enjoy this work, but to my ears it is just another good album to add to the collection.