Just in time to cure drag me out of my Power Metal funk, along comes Saint Deamon with an album that is already on my Top Releases of 2008. I was getting burned out on all these Power Metal bands still going to great lengths to reinvent the wheel that Gamma Ray had already worn the tread clean off of. Everything I listened to was leaving me cold. I checked out In Shadows Lost From The Brave and my faith was restored!

The first thing I notice is that Saint Deamon stays away from the hyper-speed technique so many bands rely upon. Rather, the band chooses to focus on strong driving tempos and heavy grooves. Secondly, the band is not of the Symphonic variety. They leave all the string & choirs to Kamelot and choose instead to keep it heavy & head-banging, even adding a touch of Heavy AOR in the choruses (in other words, big layered hooks). The opening track, “My Judas”, shows this on the very first chorus. After a chugging, nearly Thrash-like opening riff & verse, the chorus comes killing!

The band (whose members have done time in bands like Hammerfall, Ride The Sky, Dionysus, Cans & Sinergy) is hitting on all cylinders all over the album, but vocalist Jan-Thore is the star of the show. His range & power are perfectly matched, going from moody, lower deliveries to high, ripping screams & harmonies. He puts on his best “Painkiller” voice on “The Burden”, an aggressive mid-tempo neck-whipper. The chorus on “My Heart” is my first “Hook of the Year”! It’s absolutely massive…like Pretty Maids on steroids! Other highlights include the intense “No Man’s Land” with a big, crowd-participation chorus, the killer dual guitars (Maiden worship!) on “The Brave Never Bleeds” & the album’s up-tempo title track…which is the closest they get to stereotypical Power Metal.

Simply put, In Shadows Lost From The Brave is an aggressive, melodic Power Metal record sure to please fans of tradition & progression alike. Fans of later Nocturnal Rites, the heavier moments of Pretty Maids, Masterplan & newcomers Ride The Sky should eat this one up! They’re not reinventing the genre, but they are doing more than their share to kick it in the ass!

[Visit the band's website]

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