Reviewed by Gareth Hills

This is the debut album from a Scandinavian melodic metal band featuring Christian Liljegren (Narnia, Divinefire, Audiovision), Tommy Johansson (ReinXeed) and Olov Andersson (Grand Stand, Audiovision). There's a part of me that can appreciate high-octane power metal, but there's another that thinks it should really have stayed in the '80s with long hair, Yngwie Malmsteen et al, hence I was a little ambivalent about this recording. For what it is - musically accomplished, shred-laden, epic as a Tolkien novel - the album is very good, and will definitely appeal to fans of neoclassical metal. In keeping with the genre, the band's lyrics are predictably anthemic, but also rather eloquent and piercing in their apparent simplicity - the combination of worshipful lyrics and power metal works surprisingly well, as is evidenced by the title track. Inevitably, the music can sometimes sound a little flat, with little dynamic range, and there's not always much to differentiate between the songs, which mostly tend to rely on the tried-and-tested formula of lightning fast guitar picking and light synths. Even so, tracks like "Proud To Wear The Holy Cross" and "Never Look Back" are a whole lot of fun, and the album, while not breaking any genre boundaries, stands out as an accomplished release in its particular sub-genre.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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