WINTER CRESCENT — Battle of Egos (review)

WINTER CRESCENT — Battle of Egos album cover EP · 2009 · Progressive Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
J-Man
Greece's metal scene may not be as expansive as the landscape of some other European countries, but acts like Crete's Winter Crescent prove that there are more top-notch bands from this small nation than one may initially assume. Showcasing a style of old school progressive metal reminiscent of Fates Warning and Psychotic Waltz, the band's 2009 debut EP entitled Battle of Egos is the sort of music that really connects with me as a listener - the songwriting is sophisticated without sounding self-indulgent, the melodies are strong without sounding like cheap hooks, and the music gets pretty heavy without ever losing sight of memorability. If you, like me, can't get enough of classic progressive metal releases, Battle of Egos is a downright essential listen.

Perhaps due to the raw production values and two-guitarist instrumentation (there are no keyboards here), Winter Crescent's music reminds me mostly of late eighties' and early nineties' progressive metal in the vein of Fates Warning, Queensryche, and especially Psychotic Waltz. The American one-album progressive thrash metal wonder The Last Things wouldn't be a bad point of reference either, as Winter Crescent's generally dark atmospheres and gritty guitar tones give off a bit of a thrash vibe. The important thing to take note of, though, is that Battle of Egos is old school to the bone, and folks that miss the days when progressive metal sounded more like a complex version of traditional metal than a separate genre will be delighted to hear this one.

At over 34 minutes, Battle of Egos is also a fairly lengthy EP release, so it's a great value when one considers the generally high level of compositional talent exhibited by Winter Crescent. Each of the tracks are memorable and interesting enough to warrant numerous repeat listens, but "Furrow" is my personal favorite; Nikos Spyridakis's vocals really bring Devon Graves to mind here! As talented as all of the instrumentalists here are (and talented they are indeed; there are more than enough complex rhythmic ideas and melodic leads to satisfy any progressive metalhead), it's Nikos's tremendous vocal performance that really propels Winter Crescent into the upper tier of the genre.

Although Battle of Egos is perhaps not the most groundbreaking release in recent memory and a more professional production would benefit Winter Crescent's music greatly, I have completely fallen in love what these Greeks have put together for their debut EP. This is some excellent material, and I will be eagerly awaiting Winter Crescent's next move!
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
Time Signature wrote:
more than 2 years ago
As a bonus, they're also really nice guys :-)

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

The Goblin Sessions Heavy Metal
THEM
Buy this album from MMA partners
Tormenta De Arena Metalcore
VORAGO
Buy this album from MMA partners
Infinite Metalcore
FUTURE GHOST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Heretic Melodic Death Metal
SUNCINDER
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Skull Burned Wearing Hell Like A Life Vest As The Night Wept Mathcore
FRONTIERER
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

OPETH`S Epic Headline Show at Bloodstock 2024 | YouTube Premiere | Full Set | August 9th, 2024
OPETH
666sharon666· 54 minutes ago
Opeth '§4' Visualizer/Lyrics Video
OPETH
666sharon666· 55 minutes ago
Future Ghost - Wolves (Official Music Video)
FUTURE GHOST
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Future Ghost - Nemesis Game (Official Music Video)
FUTURE GHOST
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Harrowed TwentyTenVideo
HARROWED
Bosh66· 3 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed