Moonshade

Whoever wrote these songs obviously has a sense for dynamics, atmosphere and evocative melody. The instrumental opener “Battle of a Thousand Flames” works excellently as a mood-setter, eventually segueing with pomp and circumstance into the first song proper. “The Dragonrider” pummels along with a vaguely similar kind mid-paced dignity as can be heard in the music of ROTTING CHRIST (Non Serviam/Triarchy-era), building slowly before exploding full force. The down-tuned rhythm guitar lays a solid foundation with murky, mid-tempo riffing, flanked by a twin-lead attack and folk-tinged, non-distorted guitar work. Granted, the vocalist might take some time getting used to and he tends to drift out of tune on a regular basis. But there’s plenty of passion to make up for the sour notes.

“Lost in a Nightmare” offers listeners a trip into fantasy land in the vein of BLIND GUARDIAN or the Swiss EXCELSIS. Don’t let the poor production along with the shaky vocal performance fool you into believing that this is a poor man’s work. Well, in some ways it is, but not when it comes to the stuff that actually matters.

Written by Johan Pettersson