Calm Before The Storm – A very intriguing intro – sinister and enchanting all at once. It soon bursts into life, though, with a high-powered performance that’s hard to fault. That voice carries the song well, with lots of audible strength and passion; well supported by the energised instrumentals. There’s a darkness and light about this and it’s nice and long). A definitely catchy feel and you can feel the emotion within it. Great strong track.
Ride On Ruin – Opening with a metallic blast; evoking powerful visual imagery and well-placed, strategic use of percussion. Some tricky notes to hit in there and they’re hit well. Good job throughout. Clear and steady, with effective use of vocal intonations. Lots of melody and good sound production. A very decent track altogether.
Reign Of Fire – Gorgeous acoustic intro, quickly followed by a crescendo of drums and riffs and extremely skilled use of the alternating ‘soft and heavy’ structure, for want of a better phrase. Loving the tones and how they’re played around with. Another enjoyably long track. Got to love those sexily smooth riffs approximately three quarters of the way in. Very catchy and extremely likeable.
Apophis – Some truly beautiful guitar tones in this intro and this time, they’re followed up by an even mightier crescendo of metal. You just have to join in. Particularly impressive are the vocals, given the complexity of some of those notes. Good selection of instrumental arrangements. Cleverly executed riffs and general rhythm in the closing section.
Overall, an intelligently crafted EP, with plentiful twists and turns and lots of listenability. Fizzing with fiery passion and excitement and bags of imaginative vision.
8/10 ********
Hamerex 