Kemilon – Twisted Storm (2012)

Arriving with a very impressive debut release, today we have Kemilon and their freshman offering “Twisted Storm”. Directly targeted to fans of old-school Power Metal, this Canadian band makes excellent impression on listeners as soon as this release starts. With ten majestic songs, “Twisted Storm” is by far one of the most energetic Power Metal releases we have heard this 2012.

Opening with the fluff intro “Beyond Frontiers”, the band quickly delivers a highly technically proficient opening track with “Ocean of Insanity”. Having a video game-like opening, this track has a vibrant old-school sound that while featuring keyboards; it is not drowned by them, allowing the basic instruments to shine together with Yan Gagne’s excellent vocals. The overall mood of the song (and the album) if very intense and well crated to give you the ‘high’ that Power Metal used to do back in the days of early Stratovarius, Angra, etc.

As the album progresses, tracks like “The Gates of Heavy Metal”, “Night Shades”, and “Wormhole” keep showing the quality behind Kemilon. The guitar work is outstanding, the bass guitar is pounding all the way, and the drums keep everything tight. The mood nicely changes in the power-ballad “The Glow”, a personal favorite in this album. The piano sections are very well crafted and the weeping guitar solos are just magical. The band so far has shown that they are very well rounded and that they are not as one-dimensional as most of the new Power Metal bands these days.

The skillful “The Revolution” is our favorite track in this release due to the raw power behind it. The subtle keyboard hints nicely add to the melodic aspect of the song, but it is the core of the music that makes this song engaging and fun. Kemilon has the ability to create songs that revolve around the ‘basic’ Metal instruments (guitars, drums and bass), but knows when to complement them perfectly with the keyboards without overdoing it. Having an excellent vocalist on top, it’s just the icing on the cake.

If you are looking for an interesting up-and-coming Power Metal band that focuses more on the basics rather than sounding fancy and over the top, Kemilon is the band for you. “Twisted Storm” delivers ten tracks of well-crafted music that showcase a band and their unlimited potential. So head over to their label site and get a copy of this release before it runs out, your ears and music collection will thank you for it.

Release: April, 2012

Country: Canada