Do you like Rhapsody but you think that they are not Disney enough? If you answered "yes" to this question then this album is for you. If you answered "no", don't close the page just yet, maybe you will be curious to hear the album after reading this review. Twilight Force, founded in 2011, put out their full-length debut in 2014 - "Tales of Ancient Prophecies". The only flaw the album had was its length, clocking at 36 minutes, and removing the narrations was more of an EP than a full-length. Fortunately, this problem no longer exists on "Heroes of Mighty Magic" since it has 1 hour and 10 minutes of epic dragons, magic and orchestrations. They are also quickly making a name for themselves since they have recently supported Sabaton and Sonata Arctica, two giants of the current power metal scene.

Looking at the album cover, made by Kerem Beyit, you get a pretty good idea of what you might expect to hear. A dragon spitting purple flames (how metal is that?!), a starry sky and, on the back cover, a castle that almost resembles the Disney one. If this isn't epic enough for you, in the booklet you can read the story of the characters of Twilight Force including their stats and a detailed map of the Twilight Kingdoms. Metal doesn't get more epic than this, I can assure you that.

Moving on to the release itself, the production was made to get "maximum fidelity and not loudness". While the guitars are, of course, present they were pushed back giving space to the orchestrations to shine and to have a bigger role than in "Tale of Ancient Prophecies" so don't expect to hear tons of guitar riffs. The album's orchestrations composed by the keyboardist Blackwald are definitely one of the highlights, having multiple layers and instruments (they even have Glockenspiels!) emphasising the "symphonic" part of their style and sometimes the "Disney" part. You are bound to get lost in the magic world forged by the orchestrations and almost making you forgot that you are listening to a metal album and not an epic classical album, being "Guardian of the Seas" a good example of that.

Moreover, all the members absolutely shine on the album. The vocalist Chrileon, having a "battle cry" as a special skill, has a fantastic range hitting the high notes really well but still making the lyrics perceptive. The drummer, having according to the booklet infinite vitality, does a tremendous job through the album, and the guitars absolutely shine especially in the solos part. This album also has two guests participating with their vocal capabilities, each of them being on one of the two long songs of the album. The frontman of Sabaton does a return appearing on the title track, contrasting well with his heavier voice. The other guest, and no surprises here since he has probably participated in almost every power metal band that exists, is Fabio Leone taking part in "There and Back Again", making this song the most similar one to Rhapsody (and this is a good thing).

The album ends with a narration, the "Epilogue" and it is advised to hear it with Headphones since it is a binaural beating. Clocking at almost seven minutes, it could be a little shorter, but that more of a personal opinion and not a flaw. Just sit back and enjoy the track while you hear the story as the final track it perhaps one of the most memorable track that Twilight Force has done: a hymn dedicated to the fans, a perfect way to close a perfect album.

To sum up, this album is an awesome journey to the Twilight Kingdoms that every metal (and non-metal) fan should hear and have in its collection. To the people that answered "no" to the initial question of the review, I hope that it got your interest. If it didn't, listen to it anyway, you don't want to miss one of the best symphonic power metal albums ever released.

<i>"So, behold the flight of the sapphire dragon,
Soaring through the skies once again"</i>

Quite a few minor grammar mistakes; needs to be proofread by a native English speaker.

Review title / summary :Crushingly heavy but yet melodic

The first thing that attracts attention while listening to this album is an extremely dense sound. It seems like it physically can be touched by hand, like this thick substance at any moment may spill out of the speakers to flood your dwelling. Perhaps the closest band which gives a similar feeling is ‘Sulphur Aeon’, considering the fact that ‘Sulphur Aeon’ has a completely different atmosphere and (less) melodics. Musically, I found ‘Prevail’ close to specific Dutch death metal acts like ‘God Dethroned’ or ‘Hail of Bullets’, but with an even more melodic and not so soft sound as ‘God Dethroned’ for example. Possibly like ‘Asphyx’ might sound if they would play faster. Also, I often saw some comparisons with ‘Illdisposed’ and ‘Bolt Thrower’. Despite I wasn't much impressed by the ‘Bolt Thrower’ discography and badly familiar with the ‘Illdisposed’ albums, I can't deny that ‘Prevail’ suffers from some lack of originality. But come on, this band has tons of other advantages and provides possibly one of the most impressive death metal of the latest years.

I didn't dig deep in their history, however, it seems that this band was founded by former ‘Svartsot’ members Michael Lundquist Andersen, Claus B. Gnudtzmann and Niels P. Thøgersen in 2009. Then after several line-up changes they released their first EP in 2013, and only after almost eight years after the founding they released their current work. So it remains only to guess how long they actually worked and polish the sound on this album because it looks really strong and mature, especially as a first album of a less-known band. In this way ‘Prevail’ even more reminds me ‘Hail of Bullets’ that actually was the supergroup from the start.

Besides excellent technical performance of all instruments (especially rhythm section) this guys demonstrate good songwriting skills. Almost every song has a decent composition, some non trivial musical moves and surprisingly catchy melodies. Of course, it's not melodic death in the modern sense because of absolutely different riffing and overall sound. However, ‘Prevail’ shows what melodic death metal really could be if some particular Swedish bands killed each other before the release of their first demos.

The vocals on this album are performed by former ‘Svartsot’ member Claus B. Gnudtzmann. He shows good technical skills and vocal recordings are great, but nothing extraordinary and quite all in the same key except a few cases. Check out the song with the telling title ‘Voices’. Generally, it's not easy to find a really good harsh vocalist todays, and grunts here are far better than average and not annoying.

As for specific songs almost all are pretty enjoyable, my personal favorite is ‘Exterminate the Weak’. The very few songs I can't get are ‘Face What Remains’, ‘Tyrants’ and ‘Seven Deadly Sins’. Every one is not bad at all, just seems a bit weaker than the rest of the album. I don't know are the lyrics available somewhere, but aurally it sounds like the regular gentlemen's set of lyrical themes: war, religion and inner struggles. All at all, this album holds the attention long and firmly because of its unique dense and hard sound, and phenomenal combination of rigidity and melodics.

This is definitely a must-listen for both fans of old-school death and melodic death metal. I really hope that the release of their next album will need to wait much less than ten years.

Highlights: Exterminate the Weak, Betrayer, Smiting Your Enemy, No Holds Barred

Similarities: God Dethroned, Hail of Bullets, Sulphur Aeon

Quite a few minor grammar mistakes; needs to be proofread by a native English speaker.

Review title / summary :Timeback machine of perfection

Can you imagine a perfect melodic death metal? How would it sound? This album gives a possible answer by combining everything we love in this genre, and nothing excessive. There are no annoying keyboards nor clean refrains. The first thing is an old-school 90s-like sound. The second thing - an excellent songwriting of early ‘In Flames’. The third is a high speed just like in ‘Gates of Ishtar’. The fourth is a great atmosphere of early ‘Dark Tranquillity’. That does not mean ‘Nothing Lies Beyond’ is just a mix of bands listed above, they have lots of own trump cards. Believe or not, their music seems to relate to the melodic death classic like this classic relates to typical death metal of that time. You may call it ultramelodic death metal, or archetype - that's what it really is. What thing does actually make melodic death metal oneself? Of course melodies and ‘Fragile Reality’ has tons of supercatchy ones! Now combine it with variable temp of compositions and imagine how surprisingly this band demonstrates great composition and songwriting skills for a debut album. Instead of supposed Deathcore influences I found some blackened ones which make the material even more similar to ‘Gates of Ishtar’ or sometimes to the ‘In Flames’ first album. Generally blackened sound is quite usual for the first wave of melodic death metal.

The history of ‘Nothing Lies Beyond’ looks unusually typical for such a great result. This band was founded in 2011 by the mostly unfamiliar with each other before guys communicated through the internet. After five years, after several line-up changes and style variations they started the production of the debut album. None of the bandmembers had previous known bands or previous works. So it's even more amazing how strong this album is.

The excellent work of the lead guitar... Well, actually all instruments are performed excellently. But the lead guitar parts are probably the most responsible for melodies in a way reminds me the ‘Colony’ album by ‘In Flames’. It seems like this album in a short thirty minutes contains more melodies than ‘Colony’, previous ‘In Flames’ works and all 90s classics all together! And the rhythm-section also performs great speedy and varied-tempo parts. Moreover, rhythm and lead parts here often are so different from each other by the temp and signature that seems like it couldn't sound good together, but it does! Is there something I forgot? Oh, yes, vocals performed by Ido Asa! I don't know who is this guy, but it's hard to believe that all vocal parts on this album are performed by the only one person. All screams and grunts are flawless technically, have much expression, and sound absolutely awesome. I easily can imagine how the Gothenburg bands could cry with bloody tears of envy if they could have the opportunity to hear it in the 90s. Seriously, one of the best vocal parts I ever heard in the genre. And unfortunately we can only guess about lyrics.

The opening intro is a short atmospheric unformat track which sounds like a calm before the storm. ‘Closed in Chains’ begins like... well, not exactly like the storm, but some kind of "blues metal" I guess. Then the rhythm quickly speeds up. Actually, all songs on the album has various rhythms, mostly with prevailing speedy parts. ‘Closed in Chains’ is the most diverse and most interesting track in this way and is my personal favorite. Next one ‘Lost’ has a notable solo and an acoustic Gothenburg-style part. Guitar solos are one of the strongest aspects of the current album. ‘Another Place’ is the shortest track on the album (discounting intro) with the ultracatchy opening melody and the rare episodic (almost) clean voice. Then the album continues by the speediest track ‘Never Back Down’ with another great solo and almost neoclassical ending. ‘Fading Beyond False Eyes’ is a very Gothenburg-style song with acoustic parts. I previously wasn't much impressed by ‘Final Fight’, but this is also great and probably the hardest track on album. Both ‘Final Fight’ and ‘Visions’ built on rather "rhythmic" than "solo" melodies. The album ends by the track ‘We Are the Revolution’ which in turn ends with clean choir shouts and breakdowns. Does it hint that their next album will be in a different style? Will see.

All at all, it is probably the most promising debut I ever heard in old-school melodic death metal. I tried hard to find any flaws and found nothing. It's pure brilliant, every song, possibly except intro (which is not bad at all, just not so good for the such great album and looks unnecessary). Someone could say that it is too short, but come on, many classics in the genre lasts 30-35 minutes. So all I could say about it - perfect length.

Highlights: Closed in Chains, Another Place, We Are the Revolution

Similarities: In Flames, Gates of Ishtar, Dark Tranquillity

Quite a few minor grammar mistakes; needs to be proofread by a native English speaker.

Review title / summary :Crushingly heavy but yet melodic

The first thing that attracts attention while listening to this album is an extremely dense sound. It seems like it physically can be touched by hand, like this thick substance at any moment may spill out of the speakers to flood your dwelling. Perhaps the closest band which gives a similar feeling is Sulphur Aeon, considering the fact that Sulphur Aeon has a completely different atmosphere and (less) melodics. Musically, I found Prevail close to specific Dutch death metal acts like God Dethroned or Hail of Bullets, but with an even more melodic and not so soft sound as God Dethroned for example. Possibly like Asphyx might sound if they would play faster. Also, I often saw some comparisons with Illdisposed and Bolt Thrower. Despite I wasn't much impressed by the Bolt Thrower discography and badly familiar with the Illdisposed albums, I can't deny that Prevail suffers from some lack of originality. But come on, this band has tons of other advantages and provides possibly one of the most impressive death metal of the latest years.

I didn't dig deep in their history, however, it seems that this band was founded by former Svartsot members Michael Lundquist Andersen, Claus B. Gnudtzmann and Niels P. Thøgersen in 2009. Then after several line-up changes they released their first EP in 2013, and only after almost eight years after the founding they released their current work. So it remains only to guess how long they actually worked and polish the sound on this album because it looks really strong and mature, especially as a first album of a less-known band. In this way Prevail even more reminds me Hail of Bullets that actually was the supergroup from the start.

Besides excellent technical performance of all instruments (especially rhythm section) this guys demonstrate good songwriting skills. Almost every song has a decent composition, some non trivial musical moves and surprisingly catchy melodies. Of course, it's not melodic death in the modern sense because of absolutely different riffing and overall sound. However, Prevail shows what melodic death metal really could be if some particular Swedish bands killed each other before the release of their first demos.

The vocals on this album are performed by former Svartsot member Claus B. Gnudtzmann. He shows good technical skills and vocal recordings are great, but nothing extraordinary and quite all in the same key except a few cases. Check out the song with the telling title Voices. Generally, it's not easy to find a really good harsh vocalist todays, and grunts here are far better than average and not annoying.

As for specific songs almost all are pretty enjoyable, my personal favorite is Exterminate the Weak. The very few songs I can't get are Face What Remains, Tyrants and Seven Deadly Sins. Every one is not bad at all, just seems a bit weaker than the rest of the album. I don't know are the lyrics available somewhere, but aurally it sounds like the regular gentlemen's set of lyrical themes: war, religion and inner struggles. All at all, this album holds the attention long and firmly because of its unique dense and hard sound, and phenomenal combination of rigidity and melodics.

This is definitely a must-listen for both fans of old-school death and melodic death metal. I really hope that the release of their next album will need to wait much less than ten years.

Highlights: Exterminate the Weak, Betrayer, Smiting Your Enemy, No Holds Barred

Similarities: God Dethroned, Hail of Bullets, Sulphur Aeon

Quite a few minor grammar mistakes; needs to be proofread by a native English speaker.

Review title / summary :Timeback machine of perfection

Can you imagine a perfect melodic death metal? How would it sound? This album gives a possible answer by combining everything we love in this genre, and nothing excessive. There are no annoying keyboards nor clean refrains. The first thing is an old-school 90s-like sound. The second thing - an excellent songwriting of early In Flames. The third is a high speed just like in Gates of Ishtar. The fourth is a great atmosphere of early Dark Tranquillity. That does not mean Nothing Lies Beyond is just a mix of bands listed above, they have lots of own trump cards. Believe or not, their music seems to relate to the melodic death classic like this classic relates to typical death metal of that time. You may call it ultramelodic death metal, or archetype - that's what it really is. What thing does actually make melodic death metal oneself? Of course melodies and Fragile Reality has tons of supercatchy ones! Now combine it with variable temp of compositions and imagine how surprisingly this band demonstrates great composition and songwriting skills for a debut album. Instead of supposed Deathcore influences I found some blackened ones which make the material even more similar to Gates of Ishtar or sometimes to the In Flames first album. Generally blackened sound is quite usual for the first wave of melodic death metal.

The history of Nothing Lies Beyond looks unusually typical for such a great result. This band was founded in 2011 by the mostly unfamiliar with each other before guys communicated through the internet. After five years, after several line-up changes and style variations they started the production of the debut album. None of the bandmembers had previous known bands or previous works. So it's even more amazing how strong this album is.

The excellent work of the lead guitar... Well, actually all instruments are performed excellently. But the lead guitar parts are probably the most responsible for melodies in a way reminds me the Colony album by In Flames. It seems like this album in a short thirty minutes contains more melodies than Colony, previous In Flames works and all 90s classics all together! And the rhythm-section also performs great speedy and varied-tempo parts. Moreover, rhythm and lead parts here often are so different from each other by the temp and signature that seems like it couldn't sound good together, but it does! Is there something I forgot? Oh, yes, vocals performed by Ido Asa! I don't know who is this guy, but it's hard to believe that all vocal parts on this album are performed by the only one person. All screams and grunts are flawless technically, have much expression, and sound absolutely awesome. I easily can imagine how the Gothenburg bands could cry with bloody tears of envy if they could have the opportunity to hear it in the 90s. Seriously, one of the best vocal parts I ever heard in the genre. And unfortunately we can only guess about lyrics.

The opening intro is a short atmospheric unformat track which sounds like a calm before the storm. Closed in Chains begins like... well, not exactly like the storm, but some kind of "blues metal" I guess. Then the rhythm quickly speeds up. Actually, all songs on the album has various rhythms, mostly with prevailing speedy parts. Closed in Chains is the most diverse and most interesting track in this way and is my personal favorite. Next one Lost has a notable solo and an acoustic Gothenburg-style part. Guitar solos are one of the strongest aspects of the current album. Another Place is the shortest track on the album (discounting intro) with the ultracatchy opening melody and the rare episodic (almost) clean voice. Then the album continues by the speediest track Never Back Down with another great solo and almost neoclassical ending. Fading Beyond False Eyes is a very Gothenburg-style song with acoustic parts. I previously wasn't much impressed by Final Fight, but this is also great and probably the hardest track on album. Both Final Fight and Visions built on rather "rhythmic" than "solo" melodies. The album ends by the track We Are the Revolution which in turn ends with clean choir shouts and breakdowns. Does it hint that their next album will be in a different style? Will see.

All at all, it is probably the most promising debut I ever heard in old-school melodic death metal. I tried hard to find any flaws and found nothing. It's pure brilliant, every song, possibly except intro (which is not bad at all, just not so good for the such great album and looks unnecessary). Someone could say that it is too short, but come on, many classics in the genre lasts 30-35 minutes. So all I could say about it - perfect length.

Highlights: Closed in Chains, Another Place, We Are the Revolution

Similarities: In Flames, Gates of Ishtar, Dark Tranquillity

O.k., so when I had entered this album into the Archives back in early March, I was listening to it.. however in being pre-occupied with updating the information, I wasn't really 'listening' to it exactly. I really hated that I did that. (All of this is unnecessary information. Also, it was just background music at the time.

Proper paragraph formatting has only one line of space between the paragraphs.)


So, two nights ago I just happen to think of it, and listen to it uninterrupted, and completely. I wasn't really quite sure what I was listening to, and I do not mean that in a bad way. The complexity of this album is very intense, and as I was listening, it actually made me think. When was the last time I listened to an album that did that? I can't think of one.. (This is depressing. Don't waste your time on shit music. The fact that this made you think is worth including. The fact that you hardly ever listen to music that makes you think isn't. Rephrase all of this for clarity.)


With this album, Vladimyr obviously wanted to take his music into a much more profound direction. (Than what? We need comparison) And, in doing so, you can really tell exactly just what he was wanting to accomplish with Return of the Dragon-Ant. I did not know this at the time, when I had entered in the album onto the Archives, but it's solely him on this new album, and when I was told this by Vladimyr himself the other evening when I had some questions about it, I was truly astounded! It is so good that you really can't tell.. I really had no idea. (This conversational style is unnecessarily confusing. Get to the point more directly.)


So, about Return of the Dragon-Ant, again like I had mentioned this album really made me think upon actually listening to the whole album. (Avoid being redundant. Proofread.) Vladimyr's style of black metal (What does that mean? What's his style?) is still present throughout the album, in a few of the songs (but, not as completely all black metal, though) (What? I don't follow). But, I certianly wasn't expecting the nice surprize of hearing excessive, deep-style gutteral growl, but then the smooth blending in of cold black metal vocals........ but (Please don't do this. I don't know why people do this), then, this album has so much melody to it, how he'll go from death metal singing then go really low with the range......... but , then blend in just a bit of melody to the sound. Key points to this album, are definitely his unique range of singing ability, the guitar work on here is exceptionally sensational!!!! On the tracks "Death Experiment" and "Bloodspree", you can really get the feel of everything, in what I'm trying to desribe............... the vocal melodies are just so riveting!!!!! I also really have to mention "Broken Seal", very slow, you can (Punctuation) almost feel a sense of pain of emotion when listening to it. This is probably the most powerful song on the entire album. I am actually so touched when I listen to this one.


But, basically, the whole album is just a serious delight to listen to. I feel I need to point out the last song "Hostile Apocalypse", here. Now, I have listened to this album quite a few times already (am also listening to it now, as I write this) (Do you need to include this?); but "Hostile Apocalypse", this is the one I keep on hitting the repeat button back to at the album's end. Absolute master at the keyboard, wasn't really expecting a song like this to be on an album like this; however I am really glad that it is on here, because it has become my favorite!


As I love the entire album, two of the tracks just stand out to me, because they both seriously pull at my emotions and I feel like I am pulled into the songs when I am listening to, because I can honestly feel it. Those two tracks would be, "Broken Seal" and "Hostile Apocalypse". (Sometimes, I also finding myself hitting repeat with "Broken Seal", just for the sheer passion of it alone; because it is just so damn beautiful.) (Repetitive)

If you thrive off both a mixture of death and black metal, but want something extremely different than what's all out there, I strongly suggest checking this album out. Truly, in all honesty it is a masterpiece!


(This is a first draft, a collection of general impressions and personal notes. Rework the entire piece. Formatting, grammar, and clarity all need attention. Make your points clearly.

Those strings of periods are pointless and, from a writing tutor's perspective, unnerving with a hint of the suggestion of public education's impending collapse. Follow the rules of basic English composition. Tanuki has pointed out the general things you can do, and clearly doesn't want to spook you with criticism. Allow me to be somewhat more sobering. I want to emphasize that there are significant compositional errors here. This is not just about making a review acceptable for a site. These are basic life skills that need attention. Eventually, you'll have to write a cover letter for a job, and attention to these fundamental details are vital. Bad habits die hard. Kill them now.

edit: I also want to include that this even more disturbing and confusing considering that your age is reported as 45. If you have a learning disability or a language barrier, do let us know, since the feedback we give you can be tailored in that direction. If not, then this is a perfect place to practice these basic skills.)

HELLWELL – BEHIND THE DEMON’S EYES (2017)
Rating: 87%

Themes centred around the concept of horror have always played a huge part in heavy metal music, all the way back to the first notes heard on Black Sabbath’s self-titled track. Delving deeper into the horror theme also opens up the likes of the romanticizing gothic horror, the existential dread of cosmic horror, as well as the graphic imagery of gore and body horror. Taking all these varying themes and setting them within a musical context is exactly what Hellwell is all about, and if the cover artwork is any indication at all, they do it good too. The band itself though feels birthed out of an overabundance of ideas and inspiration extending an already established sound rather than standing on its own, and when one takes a glance over the names of the people involved, it comes as no surprise. The band is the brainchild of the cult metal band Manilla Road’s main-man Mark Shelton, and his trademark sound is all over the record as he handles both guitar-duty and vocals as well as serving as the main songwriter. But despite Shelton’s obvious leadership, the band actually borrows its name from author/musician E. C. Hellwell and it’s his heavy presence in the form of keyboard and synth that serves as the biggest distinction between Hellwell and Shelton’s main-band Manilla Road. And despite the accusations of the band being merely “Manilla Road with organs”, it’s the music itself that provides the merits it should be judged by. But does Behind the Demon’s Eyes hold up, or does it all feel like a second-rate Manilla Road album?

As previously mentioned, the sound of Hellwell is closely linked to that of Manilla Road, but despite that Behind the Demon’s Eyes was released closer to the vanilla and, dare I say, boring Manilla Road albums of the 2010s, the music actually sounds closer to the classic albums of the late 80s and early 90s, especially the horror themed Out of the Abyss from 1988. And to make the ties to this sound even stronger, Shelton has recruited the help of classic Manilla Road drummer Randy “Thrasher” Foxe, and his frantic and chaotic playing fits right in with the mixture of thrashing riffs and the classic horror organ sound.

The album opens with the straight thrasher Lightwave, showcasing all three players right away, with Shelton’s “epic thrash” riffing, Foxe’s intense drumming, and E. C. Hellwell’s atmospheric organ. Lightwave is a great opener both in terms of its context within the album and in terms of the music itself, as it gets the blood pumping straight away with no fluff build-up, and has a catchy take on a quasi-death metal sound where Shelton belts out some of his deepest growls. The next track, Necromantio, ups the complexity of the music, but because of this, the first half of the track feels almost too chaotic and rushed when compared to the straightforwardness of Lightwave. But around the half-way mark the song shifts gear into the epic territory that everyone familiar with Shelton should recognize, and it is simply stunning. A build-up that just keeps on building and finally explodes into a heartfelt and majestic guitar solo that utilizes every instrument to its fullest. This section takes the grandeur of soaring guitar melodies and pairs it with the controlled chaos of the drums and the complementing notes of the organ. It is truly a highlight within the album, and maybe even in the genre as a whole.

Later on the album, we find the track It’s Alive, of course a nod to Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein, which further encompasses the feel of earlier Manilla Road albums. With a (mostly) clean vocal delivery by Shelton and a much bigger focus on the epic scale of music rather than the down-to-earth thrashing found earlier, this track sounds straight from the 80s. But despite being the closest track this album has to offer in the vein of Manilla Road’s style, the song is absolutely a highlight. A driving rhythm, lead on by the always steady Foxe, coupled with the organ, here sharing the spotlight with Shelton’s mesmerizing vocal-lines, creates a fun, atmospheric and maybe even nostalgic metal song. Certainly one of the album’s most memorable tracks.

Behind the Demon’s Eyes is also packed with a couple of epic tracks, where the centrepiece, To Serve Man, tells a story akin to that found on the album’s cover sleeve. To Serve Man, with its snail-paced doom laden riffs, is a welcome change after the thrashing and upbeat two-punch openers and sees the vocals alternating between a demonic growl in the verse and a clean and entrancing performance in the chorus. The song also provides a catchy solo before the whole track stops in the wake of a three-minute-long organ solo. The solo builds atmosphere, that’s for sure, but it feels way too long and would have benefitted greatly from being cut down to maybe just one minute. The song then evolves into a thrash-fest, keeping up the complexity, before again shifting into a tempo more akin to the tracks first part. Thankfully, all the parts complement each other and they all fit together seamlessly, preventing the song from getting boring or relying too much on one idea. The only gripe is the previously mentioned organ solo that drags on far too long. The second epic though, the closer The Last Rites of Edward Hawthorn, could be described as the magnum opus of the release. A mournful and touching piano opens the track in excellent fashion, building a perfect momentum for the grim love story that is to be told. An acoustic guitar carries the song’s lamenting intro into a “light at the end of the tunnel” vibe, with an optimistic and hopeful atmosphere. But then, parallel with the lyrics, the song takes a dark turn. An ominous riff complemented by an equally terrifying organ escalates The Last Rites of Edward Hawthorn into a technical and headbanging metal feast. The song ends on the same piano that opened the track, and serves as both the track and the albums perfect ending.

Behind the Demon’s Eyes is certainly an accomplishment within the realms of underground metal, but a perfect record it is not. For example, the track The Galaxy Being, here serving as the weakest link, lacks both a defining flair and a truly memorable moment. But despite this, the track in itself is by no means bad. The instrumentation is among the album’s finest and the cheesy intro (and outro) consisting of a cheesy 1950s theremin fits the sci-fi theme perfectly, but the song is sadly easily forgotten among the rest of the album’s cuts.

As with the production, if you know Manilla Road, and if you know Mark Shelton, you already know what to expect. Charming, yet amateurish and without any form of polish. But in the context of Behind the Demon’s Eyes, the production actually feels quite fitting, with a murky and turbid soundscape backing up the dark subject matters. The cover artwork also deserves a special mention. It is painted by the extremely talented Paolo Girardi and is one of the most striking pieces I have ever seen, completely understanding the sound of the album while also maintaining a perfect and eye-catching motif.

All in all, Hellwell’s Behind the Demon’s Eyes stands as a testament to Shelton’s almost divine ability to never run out of ideas, even though the later years have seen him more or less build on his existing legacy rather than creating something entirely new. This is also where this album comes in, as it may not be the defining moment of memorability as it takes a lot of cues from Shelton’s main-band Manilla Road, but it doesn’t really need to be all that different either. By taking the epic nature of Manilla Road and fusing it with a prominent use of organs and a sound purely dedicated to all things horror, it strikes gold. From the thrashing complexity of tracks such as Lightwave and Necromantio, to the epic nature of tracks such as It’s Alive and The Last Rites of Edward Hawthorn, Hellwell have created a niche within a niche that does almost everything right. The album is highly recommended and even produces music far more compelling and complete than that found on Manilla Road’s post 2010 albums.

I'm not sure exactly what Adastreia did when it put <i>That Which Lies Within</i> together, but whatever it was, it didn’t work. Generally speaking, the songs are disjointed and disorganized. The instruments don't seem to be in the same key as the vocals, and the vocals seem to be going for a different style of metal than the instruments. The music lurches forward in fits and starts, rolling seemingly at random from thudding heavily, to keyboarding soaringly, to strumming off-tempo-but-speedily, and so forth. And none of this is in a way that might seem interesting or that might imply that the band did any of it on purpose. Although the songs do seem to get <u>a little</u> better as the album goes along, most of them just go on for way too long. Honestly, I think Adastreia was shooting for “really proggy progtastic metal,” but just didn’t know how to put the various pieces together in order to get there.

However, there is one incredible exception in the confusing mess. A glowing candle of a song that Adastreia hid under a bushel, as it were. It's hard to pinpoint what they did on "Tempest" that works so amazingly well, but failed in every other instance throughout the album. But here, at least, the vocals and the music suddenly click. The disjointed timing problems of the rest of the album aren't present here: in fact, the timing changes <u>are</u> interesting and <u>do</u> work, adding musical narrative to the lyrics. The instruments are unified and driven. The multi-octave vocals twirl effortlessly between soaring majestically to crooning seductively, adding intriguing nuance to the lyrics. Really, this is one of my favorite songs from any band, and it just sends chills down my spine every time I hear it.

Nevertheless, the album as a whole is tepid and uninspiring. And Adastreia's success on "Tempest" does nothing more than demonstrate that <i>That Which Lies Within</i> could have been a lot better.

Nearly there - but very little description of the music.

I'm not sure exactly what Adastreia did when it put <i>That Which Lies Within</i> together, but whatever it was, it didn’t work.

Charitably speaking, the album is a mish-mash of crunchy/grindy, galloping guitars and occasional, dramatic synth progressions, backed by largely drowned out drums. There are a lot of changes of pace…I mean, a ton. And (now-discharged) vocalist Alexandra Martin really belts out operatic, soaring vocals with a lot of passion and effort. But the songs are disjointed and disorganized. The instruments often don't seem to be in the same key as the vocals, and the vocals seem to be going in a different stylistic direction than the instruments. The songs lurch forward in fits and starts, rolling seemingly at random from thudding heavily, to keyboarding soaringly, to strumming off-tempo-but-speedily, and so forth. And none of this is in a way that might seem interesting or that might imply that the band did any of it on purpose. Although the songs do seem to get <u>a little</u> better as the album goes along, most of them just go on for way too long. Honestly, I think Adastreia was shooting for “really proggy progtastic metal,” but just didn’t know how to put the various pieces together in order to get there.

However, there is one incredible exception in the confusing mess. A glowing candle of a song that Adastreia hid under a bushel, as it were. It's hard to pinpoint what they did on "Tempest" that works so amazingly well, but failed in every other instance throughout the album. But here, at least, the vocals and the music suddenly click. The disjointed timing problems of the rest of the album aren't present here: in fact, the timing changes <u>are</u> interesting and <u>do</u> work, adding musical narrative to the lyrics. The instruments are unified and driven. The multi-octave vocals twirl effortlessly between soaring majestically to crooning seductively, adding intriguing nuance to the lyrics. Really, this is one of my favorite songs from any band, and it just sends chills down my spine every time I hear it.

Nevertheless, the album as a whole is tepid and uninspiring. And Adastreia's success on "Tempest" does nothing more than demonstrate that <i>That Which Lies Within</i> could have been a lot better.