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Great review . . . and great example of a band I never heard of, and, because of their kind of cheeky, 80's throwback bandname, I almost dismissed them before reading the review, but your rating made me say, OK let's check this out. Glad I did.
There are so many bands out there that are trying to do this album, both new bands and ones, like these guys, that have been around for awhile---an earnest, traditional-yet-updated, straight up metal album. However they either don't have the crisp, tight songwriting chops that these guys have (at least here, haven't heard anything else by them), or they make it too over-the-top to the point of being cartoonish, a la Cage, Agent Steel & others (just my opinion, and not to say those bands aren't good). As the review says, this is very heavy too. No lack of crunch and power, which is often the case when bands attempt this style today. And it's got melody to boot, but it's not catchy in the Nocturnal Rites, Sonata Arctica sense, the hooks here are very much in the vein of heavier, classic Priest.
Hard to compare this to other bands today, not that it's really different, yet it is. Reminds me a little of Seven Seals by Primal Fear in that it's heavy, priest-like, and has that little extra dose of darkness that SS had. A little bit of Brainstorm too, their heavier, more traditional styled stuff, but without the modern, electronic touches that Brainstorm does with keys & symphonics. The reviewer also makes a good point that the vocals are not the focal point here (whereas PF and Brainstorm are very much vocally oriented bands). That's not to say the vocals aren't good; they are in fact very good---mid range, gritty (even sinister at times), yet melodic. It's just that the songs are the stars here, and the vocals are just a part of the whole. Same with the guitar solos; just enough shred to impress, but the solos very much serve the songs (a la Maiden). Also, unlike most Euro power bands, even on the fast and uptempo songs there is very little double-bass, speed metal drumming here. Again, this isn't a bad thing, just a difference. This is much more a UK/US than a Euro style of power metal (parts of it even remind me a little of Death Angel's latest).
I just got this on iTunes last night after reading the review (the import CD was a little too pricey) and have had no trouble getting through all 15 songs a couple times now. As the reviewer says, there is not much in the way of filler. Nothing groundbreaking either but, like I said earlier, a lot of bands try this kind of album these days, but I have rarely heard it done this well. Good band, great album. Hope they get some attention from this. Thanks for the tip.
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