Power Metal

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Catamenia – Cavalcade (2010)

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    Back in the day Catamenia used to play Melodic Black Metal and was considered just another band in the bunch. We have slowly seen how this band has been evolving into a more complex beast and it has been shedding its skin release after release until now.

    “Cavalcade” shows a finally mature band that plays a very interesting sounding ‘Blackened’ Power Metal. You still get the Black Metal shrieks, however the music structure is very Power Metal like, and its brilliant. The band finally polished its sound and after interesting releases we finally get a great one.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Winters Verge – Tales Of Tragedy (2010)

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    We don’t get to review too many bands from Cyprus and Winters Verge creates a great first impression with their third full-length album “Tales Of Tragedy”. The band manages to deliver a fine album filled with amazing Power Metal songs that will surely grab the attention of any fans of the genre.

    Not being a huge fan of Power Metal and being impressed with an album of this genre has to mean that the album is very good. “Tales Of Tragedy” by far exceeded any expectations I had about it when I read the press sheet. Featuring 11 tracks of bombastic Power Metal clocking around 55 minutes, this is one release that you can’t afford to miss.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Sacred Steel – Carnage Of Victory (2009)

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    Not being a big fan of Power Metal, I find it hard reviewing albums of this genre, because most of them sound exactly like each other. Sacred Steel’s “Carnage Of Victory” is one of them, while the music and vocals are not bad, but it’s just something I’ve listened to before.

    “Carnage Of Victory” provides us with 11 tracks of very decent Power Metal, I must say that not every Power Metal band I’ve reviewed has the quality that Sacred Steel has. The band on their 7th studio album delivers a very solid recording and should not be ignored by fans of the genre, for non-believers of Power Metal it’s just another album that sounds the same.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    While Heaven Wept – Vast Oceans Lachrymose (2009)

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    While Heaven Wept is one of my favorite American bands since their Epic/Power Doom Metal is very different than other bands out there, and “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” is a worthy follow up to “Of Empires Forlorn”.

    However “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” sounds much more like the continuation of “Of Empires Forlorn” since they both have plenty of similarities in their sound. If you like the band’s previous album then you will love this new one, but if you did not then this is the problem here, the band shows almost no musical evolution between them.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Wilde Starr – Arrival (2009)

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    Wilde Starr hails from Alameda, California, and the band’s name is taken from the two members last names: London Wilde (vocals and keyboards) and Dave Starr (Guitars and Bass). The band’s sound can easily be compared to Doro with some hints of After Forever.

    Featuring over 55 minutes of music “Arrival” is one of the most effective releases I’ve heard this year, and I mean effective in a sense that no minute is wasted in establishing the band into one of the best of the genre. All songs are very well written and are diverse enough to not get bored, but feature elements in common giving the band their signature sound.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Sonata Arctica – The Days Of Grays (2009)

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    Sonata Arctica is a band that has been constantly changing since its formation back in 1999 and have consistently released quality album no matter what changes they make to their sound.

    “The Days Of Grays” is the band’s latest release and it’s very bombastic and emotional in nature, Tony Kakko is probably one of the best metal singers these days, and in this album he has another killer performance that will surely satisfy all of the band’s fans. His vocal range is amazing as always and his ability to transfer emotions into the lyrics and music is unrivaled.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Narnia - Course Of A Generation (2009)

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    Narnia is a Swedish band that features a very impressive lineup of musicians and has been around since 1996. The main difference between “Course Of A Generation” and “Enter The Gate” is the change of vocalists they made, bringing German Pascual to their lineup.  

    The main reason Power Metal is not one of my favorite musical genres because plenty of releases in this genre sound very alike. And “Course Of A Generation” is the perfect example. While the music is very good and the overall album production is stellar, it feels like I’ve heard the same songs somewhere else, there is nothing new or innovative about this release. That being said, we will assume that there are no other Power Metal bands in the world, for the rest of this review.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Rebellion - The Clans Are Marching (2009)

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    Rebellion is a German Power Metal band that has some ex members of Grave Digger in its ranks. “The Clans Are Marching” is a short EP released 1 month before their next full length album. This EP features 4 songs that will leave all fans of the band and the genre hungry for more in anticipation of the new album.

    While I’m not a huge fan of Power Metal, I can recognize a quality release when I hear one, and this EP is top notch in my book. The band is known for releasing high quality albums and this one is not an exception.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Inmoria - Invisible Wounds (2009)

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    Inmoria hails from Sweden and the band features members from Tad Morose and Morgana Lefay, after reading this I was very interested in listening to “Invisible Wounds”, they debut album.

    While the whole album features a very interesting mixture of Power and Dark Metal, and the keyboards create haunting melodies that are perfectly complemented by choirs, it lacks depth and after listening to 4-5 songs it becomes a bit dull and repetitive.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Armory – The Dawn Of Enlightenment (2007)

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    When I first listened to this CD of this American band I was blown away, it sounded like any other big name, and big quality European Power Metal band. I had to go back and re-read that it was actually an American band. To make things worse, this band is still un-signed! I’m amazed by this fact. There are tons of other bands that are signed that have less than half the quality that Armory has.

    Armory has been around since 2001 and has only released one demo in 2004, which was latter re-recorded to make the debut album “The Dawn Of Enlightenment”.  So this means it took all these years for the band to polish their first opus and by all means they achieved a very solid and impressive first album.

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