UMUR
"The Dawn of Enlightenment" is the debut full-length studio album by US, Massachussets based power metal act Armory. The album was independently released in December 2007. It´s a complete re-recording of the "The Dawn of Enlightenment" demo from 2004. A demo which was originally released as the band´s debut album, but was "downgraded" to demo status, after this version came out.
Stylistially the music on the album is Euro styled power metal. It´s neo-classical oriented, usually fast-paced, energetic, and uplifting in mood. In other words...classic Euro styled power metal. Armory are skilled composers though and they bring enough compositional variation to the table, to not sound one-dimensional or too generic. The first five tracks on the 10 track, 64:02 minutes long album, provide a good overview of what the band have to offer. The intro track "The Tempest" is an epic atmospheric opening to the album, and in traditional Euro power metal style it is succeeded by a fast-paced and energetic track in "Faith in Steel". "Riding the Cosmic Winds" shows the band playing more mid-tempo (although still relatively fast), while "Forever Triumphant" is a majestic power ballad type track featuring an anthemic chorus with a grand choir. "Heart of Dreams" introduces galloping Iron Maiden type riffs and rhythms. The 13:47 minutes long title track is slightly progressive in style, but the overall style of that track is Euro power metal too.
So the material is relatively varied and it´s delivered by highly skilled musicians. "The Dawn of Enlightenment" also features a very well sounding production, which suits the music perfectly, so upon conclusion it´s a high quality release by Armory. It´s not exactly an original sounding release, but when the music is delivered with as much conviction as here, and when the songwriting and production work are as professional and clever as it is on "The Dawn of Enlightenment", you just can´t deny quality although originality is usually a high ranking rating parameter. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.