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May 17, 2012 |
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01. Temptation Wasteland
02. A Moment In The Spotlight
03. Reality Bends
04. Dire Waters
05. Stage Of Lies
06. Heart And Home
07. Megalomania
08. My Legacy
09. Obsession To Prosper
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It is widely acknowledged that despite a very scarce population, Scandinavia in general and Finland in particular are considered nowadays as the most fertile ground in matters of Metal. Within the last 17 years or so the Finns have developed their own style of ultra melodic Power Metal with formations such as STRATOVARIUS and more recently SONATA ARCTICA, THUNDERSTONE, SINERGY or WARMEN, who in turn have influenced newer bands such as TWILIGHT GUARDIANS, TWILIGHTNING and finally the newest one, EXCALION.
Founded in 2000, EXCALION surprisingly released their debut album on the independent label, Sound Riot Records, which normally leans more towards extreme metal acts such as CHAIN COLLECTOR or INFERNUM. EXCALION's "Prime Exhale" was originally available in Europe in June 2005 and about eight months later in North America. But let's stay positive here, better later than never.
As the first notes of the opening track, "Temptation Wasteland", kick in, you can't help saluting the effort put into the production of this album, which was shared between the band themselves and Arttu Sarvanne. The sound is simply phenomenal. What we're talking about here is traditional Northern European Power Metal very reminiscent of the aforementioned acts with an additional bit of anger giving EXCALION the extra edge that some of these groups may sometimes lack. In a couple of words, it's freaking heavy. Despite the melodies, keyboards and vocal harmonies, these guys are not kidding around.
The mood gets even more hyper with "For A Moment In The Spotlight". This track is catchy. Even if the guitar solos are very Yngwie Malmsteen-inspired, therefore offering nothing strikingly different from the usual at first listen, everything still falls right into place. With track #3, "Reality Bends", it's obvious that the band decided on this one to switch into higher gears by always keeping the listener entertained without any effort. The atmosphere gets even more aggressive with the slower-paced "Dire Waters", where the vocal range of singer Jarmo Pããkkõnen with a style somewhere between Timo Kotipelto (STRATOVATIUS, KOTIPELTO) and Ethereal Magnanimus (LOST HORIZON).
From then on it keeps getting better with the faster "Stage Of Lies". "Heart And Home" kind of starts out as a ballad, but later evolves into a mid-tempo, super melodic track and reveals to be the strongest one thus far. On the other hand, the faster "Megalomania" happens to be the most aggressive song on the album, drifting away from the influence of their peers to get closer to a North American sound similar to that of Seattle's NEVERMORE. The next couple of tracks, "My Legacy", with its killer riffs, and "Obsession to Prosper", easily remind us of the early period of Yngwie Malmsteen's RISING FORCE. It is important to mention that the early edition of the album comes with the bonus track, "Luopio", which is heavy as hell with lyrics entirely in Finnish. It certainly closes the album in style.
Normally in a case like this where the band are dealing with a smaller label I'd say let's hope that next time these guys get a stronger production and better distribution, but to be honest they don't actually need it. Whatever was done on this album works and doesn't really need to be fixed or even improved. This is melodic Metal at its best and a must for fans of the genre.
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