Like it was the case for Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, AC/DC, Motörhead or Kiss, Iced Earth and Blind Guardian are influencing many new bands out there. The Danish band Manticora we discovered a few years before is one of them - their new record is a killer my friends. Inside the high traffic of new bands, Archetype is another American heavy metal band influenced by Jon Schaffer and Co, which seems very promising based on their first album Dawning (re-recorded "demo" plus a couple of new songs).

Their combination of power and melody reminds me Iced Earth, even though they have "something" personal that makes the listening very interesting : catchy chorus, topnotch melodies, nice progressive touch all over the song-writing and a fantastic lead vocalist. Iced Earth's trademark - vicious thrashy galloping guitars, hunted melodies and strong vocals - are these elements that elevate Archetype as a potential "future leader".

The opener Final Day should remind you Jon Schaffer and I am sure you will agree with me that Greg Wagner (vocalist) has something "warm" that makes the whole different between the usual underground copycat band and a talented band. The song-writing is full of ideas, jumping from a dreaming melody to a killer guitar riff. Everything here is constructed to astonish and capture the attention of the listener. The title track Dawning - a perfection of melody, chorus, riff and tempo - is the song to check to visualize the potential of this band. I agree the US band is not reinventing the heavy/power metal genre, but their "small" contribution prove that this style is far from being dead or tasteless and that a lot of roads have been opened with the help of Iced Earth.

Archetype is following one of this path and creates their type of heavy/power metal - just check the fifth track, Inside Your Dreams. I can feel the enormous potential of this talented band, like I did for Iced Earth a long time ago. Of course, it is always easy to make a "touchdown" ... the hardest part comes from repeating it. The second & third album should confirm or destroy my rising hopes.

The above image is the new artwork for the European version of Dawning - logo has been done by my brother Chris, your reviewer. The CD will be released in the next couple of weeks through Lucretia Records. It will be remastered and released in a digipack format with the new artwork, a new booklet and will contain a bonus track. I have received the original one, but I will invest in this digipack, trust me :)

Archetype is a 'rocky' and I am gonna keep a very close eye on them.