Crescent Shield - The Stars Of Never Seen

Power Metal
Cruz del Sur

2009

1. Under Cover Of Shadows
2. The Grand Horizon
3. Tides Of Fire
4. 10,000 Midnights Ago
5. Temple Of The Empty
6. My Anger
7. The Bellman
8. The Endurance
9. Lifespan

The Stars Of Never Seen marks the second release from Crescent Shield and I must say that I loved the debut. This one is one of my more anticipated releases of the year. Michael Grant of Onward's voice and Dan Delucie of Destiny's End's guitar playing... how could this be bad? The answer is it couldn't.

Crescent Shield come back with a fine second release on this one in much the same mold as the debut. What we have here is something that is power metal but has something of a raw feel about it while still being epic and reminds me of the best of early American traditional and American power metal's beginnings. A nice variation between heavier and faster moments is balanced well with rolling passages and melodic moments. One thing that boosts this release is the fact that the music never settles too much into one mold and Michael Grant is more than capable of handling the different mood shifts. Only two releases in, I find the sound of this band is instantly recognizable and that's not a small feat with all the different bands out there. Between the riffs of Delucie and the resounding, deep and melodic voice of Grant this band just has a great thing going. Not to be undersold either is great bass lines that drive songs like The Bellman's roll in particular. I could see this band appealing to some people who aren't into modern power metal much as it has something distinctly more traditional about it and doesn't have the cheese factor some power metal.

The Stars Of Never Seen is another win for Crescent Shield and these guys definitely deserves more attention than they have received so far. This band's stock is certainly high in terms of my own listening pleasure. I'll be looking forward to hearing more from Crescent Shield. I'd recommend this to any fans of a rawer 80s traditional meets power sound grounded in Iron Maiden influence.

Highlights: Lifespan, Tides Of Fire, Temple Of The Empty, Under Cover Of Shadows

Rating - 4.0/5

Crescent Shield - The Last Of My Kind

Power Metal
Cruz Del Sur

2006

1. Above Mere Mortals
2. Slaves To The Metal Horde
3. Rise Of The Red Crescent Moon
4. Burn With Life
5. The Last Of My Kind
6. North for The Winter
7. The Path Once Chosen
8. The Great Devoid
9. Unfinished Ashes
10. Await The Champion
11. The Passing

Crescent Shield is a band I have been watching for awhile now as I am both a fan of Destiny's End and Onward. Both bands had sadly abbreviated careers considering their potential and the concept of bringing both the guitar power of Destiny's End and the vocal majesty of Onward certainly is an appealing one to me. Really I more or less heard this album some time ago as a demo, but I've been waiting on the finished product.

Michael Grant and Dan Delucie seem to compliment each other quite well as the sound comes together somewhere between both's last works. Certainly there are reminders of Destiny's End guitar work in the more ripping moments, but Michael Grant brings more of a melodic, powerful approach to the music than the wails in Destiny's End. More or less the guitar varies from a subdued chug that highlights Grant's vocals in the slower parts to some shredding leads in songs like Above Mere Mortals and Slaves To The Metal Horde. There's also something about this release's sound and production that makes it seem like a very traditional slice of american metal while also retaining the epic touches of the more european power metal. A pleasant blend to these ears as it seems epic without being too pompous and overblown. I think my one gripe with this release is at times the guitar does take a little too much of a backseat. The most obvious case of this is Rise Of The Red Crescent Moon where a slow, steady, and somewhat repetitive chug gos through the motions while Grant does his thing. That would have to be my least favorite on the album... especially since other tracks and past works show Delucie capable of so much more on guitar. A minor gripe though as there is plenty of solid axework elsewhere on the album and it's the only track I find is really dragged down by the chuggier guitar parts.

All in all, fans of their past works would be advised to check out this release, as would any fan of this sort of stripped down american power/traditional sound. Crescent Shield certainly does slide into the Cruz Del Sur catalogue easily alongside artists such as Pharaoh and I have no doubt this band will find it's niche.

Highlights: Above Mere Mortals, Burn With Life, Await The Champion, The Passing

Rating - 4.0/5