Metal Blade
2006
1. Leaving All Behind
2. A Sign Far Beyond
3. Never Again
4. Forever Unbound
5. Seen Through Time
6. Wakening
7. Releasing the Shadow
8. No Chances Lost
Well nothing says speedy power metal quite like Omaha, Nebraska. Seriously, after hearing this album and Then reading where they were from I had to do a double take. This album screams of a european style.
Basically, what we have here is Metal Blade's attempt to sign a band they think will be appealing in the wake of Roadrunner's recent addition, Dragonforce. Hey, I just call em as I see em. In a way this does remind me of Dragonforce a bit... if all the members ceased their pole smoking. This album sounds like european speedy, somewhat happy power metal but with more heaviness than is the norm. There's no fruity casio keyboard noises to make this sound like faeries are going to jump out of my speakers and shoot rainbows out of their asses. Really this kinda reminds me of Stratovarius' more speed oriented material minus the keyboards and with a better guitar sound. Even the vocals bring to mind Kotipelto and Kiske. Really it comes down to passion in the delivery and these guys have it. It's not just go really fast with no regard for songwriting. There are great melodic guitar passages that make this pretty memorable and the drumming is really fuckin good. The only drawback I see in this band is the vocals sound a bit strained at times, but the music makes up for it, and it is a first release from young band. Nothing to reinvent the wheel stylistically but it's the best of this style that I can remember hearing in recent memory.
The word of the review is 'promising. I look forward to hearing more from this new young power metal bringing a touch of europe to the states. Recommended to any fan of euro-style speedy power metal really, but especially fans of stuff like Dragonforce, Sonata Arctica, Gamma Ray, etc.
Highlights: Never Again, Forever Unbound, No Chances Lost
Rating - 3.5/5
2. A Sign Far Beyond
3. Never Again
4. Forever Unbound
5. Seen Through Time
6. Wakening
7. Releasing the Shadow
8. No Chances Lost
Well nothing says speedy power metal quite like Omaha, Nebraska. Seriously, after hearing this album and Then reading where they were from I had to do a double take. This album screams of a european style.
Basically, what we have here is Metal Blade's attempt to sign a band they think will be appealing in the wake of Roadrunner's recent addition, Dragonforce. Hey, I just call em as I see em. In a way this does remind me of Dragonforce a bit... if all the members ceased their pole smoking. This album sounds like european speedy, somewhat happy power metal but with more heaviness than is the norm. There's no fruity casio keyboard noises to make this sound like faeries are going to jump out of my speakers and shoot rainbows out of their asses. Really this kinda reminds me of Stratovarius' more speed oriented material minus the keyboards and with a better guitar sound. Even the vocals bring to mind Kotipelto and Kiske. Really it comes down to passion in the delivery and these guys have it. It's not just go really fast with no regard for songwriting. There are great melodic guitar passages that make this pretty memorable and the drumming is really fuckin good. The only drawback I see in this band is the vocals sound a bit strained at times, but the music makes up for it, and it is a first release from young band. Nothing to reinvent the wheel stylistically but it's the best of this style that I can remember hearing in recent memory.
The word of the review is 'promising. I look forward to hearing more from this new young power metal bringing a touch of europe to the states. Recommended to any fan of euro-style speedy power metal really, but especially fans of stuff like Dragonforce, Sonata Arctica, Gamma Ray, etc.
Highlights: Never Again, Forever Unbound, No Chances Lost
Rating - 3.5/5
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