Kev Rowland
The album starts with an introduction which would not sound of place on a Clive Nolan project, as right from the off we realise this is going to be a concept album, with loads of atmosphere and menace. True, there are times throughout when the additional voices are applied with the panache of a tiler’s trowel as opposed to artist’s brushstroke, but that shouldn’t take away from what is a highly enjoyable album which has obviously been influenced by classic Savatage and Virgin Steele. This is their second release, following up on 2016’s debut ‘Sweet Hollow’, but many of the band have already been around for quite a while. Frontman KK Fossor (ex-Coldsteel) has a classic heavy metal voice, hitting high notes with ease and loads of power, and he is front and centre on all they do.
Main songwriter Markus Ulrich (Lanfear, Septagon, A Cosmic Trail) is joined by guitarist Markus Johansson (Sylencer, 4ARM), drummer Angel Cotte (ex-Demolition Hammer), bassist Alexander Palma and keyboardist Richie Seibel (Lanfear, Ivanhoe). “We had already decided on the album’s plot when Markus and I started writing the songs,” Ullrich explains. “That’s why we worked in chronological order, composing first the intro and then each track in the scheduled sequence, which allowed us to keep in mind the story line and link the songs where stylistically possible. In line with the story’s dramaturgy, the album kicks off with tough sounds, takes a number of surprising turns and ends as tough as a real metal album should.”
The vocals stand up against strong technical metal, and it was no surprise to discover that Paul Sabu (Alice Cooper, David Bowie) was in the studio with the band to assist with some of the BV’s. As with every aspect of the album, they are sheer class, and the result is something any fan of technical power metal will enjoy a great deal.