I love power metal! So naturally when Perth's only power metal band release their first album, especially when I've been following its exciting development through Facebook and my general daily stalking, I'm going to be all over it like Yngwie Malmsteen over, well… himself.
The album kicks off –after a grandiose and almost military synthesised orchestral intro with the anthemic Curse Of The Black Rose, and from there covers pretty much every single archetype of power metal-style song structures with galloping rhythms and more twiddly-diddly than Bruce Dickinson could fly a Boeing at. The songs are solid in their composition, maintaining that classic power metal vibe throughout the album. The two ballads, Prophets Of War and Dare To Dream are standout tracks, with graceful and harmonic acoustic arpeggios and Zoran's unusually restrained vocals, lending themselves beautifully to the softer end of spectrum.
However, as powerful and pitch perfect as Zoran's voice is – and trust me, it is – the tone of his operatic bellowing will not necessarily be pleasing to all ears. The smoothness of his polished tenor often seems at odds with the grind of the electric guitars creating an illusion of dissonance. It can be grating at times.
I know it's not the most fashionable subgenre, but then I never claim to be particularly in touch with the kids, especially since that court order requiring me to not be within 50 feet of one. This is a good first album for these guys, despite some minor imperfections, and worth checking out for my hairy codpiece-wearing brethren.
