ALBUM REVIEW: With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel – Power Paladin
Iceland is not necessarily the first country to spring to mind when it comes to power metal. The sparsely populated Nordic isle has been a longtime contributor of black metal, perhaps due to the volcanic and polar climate, but alas arise POWER PALADIN. The sextet come galloping into battle armed with their debut album, With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel, but is there enough grit and infectious heavy metal goodness to ensure that the Icelandic troupe land the killer blow?
Well, as it turns out POWER PALADIN are quite the proposition. Kraven The Hunter is an anthemic and hell raising heavy metal opener as guitarists Ingi Þórisson and Bjarni Þór Jóhannsson provide ample amounts of tasty harmonising guitar-play whilst Atli Guðlaugsson‘s wailing vocals soar above the music like a phoenix. As the record continues to unfold and display its colours, it becomes increasingly clear just what a gem of a band POWER PALADIN are. Righteous Fury is a speedy number that kicks the momentum up a notch, Evermore really benefits from the subtlety of Bjarni Egill Ögmundsson‘s keys which helps the track to really sink its aural claws in, and album finale There Can Only Be One is nothing short of epic; a track born for the biggest of stages.
Easily the strongest aspect to POWER PALADIN‘s aural arsenal is guitarists Þórisson and Þór Jóhannsson‘s consistent showboating of soaring twin harmonies, delicious licks and tasty solos, which impress time and time again. Way Of Kings boasts some of the most devilishly cool solos on the entire record that will have you whipping out the air guitars, Creature Of The Night‘s dizzying guitar harmonies scream a hefty influence of the power metal of decades gone with enough cheesy glam added for good measure, and Dark Crystal oozes enough thrashing grit to show that the band have more than enough steel running through their collective veins.
That’s not to say that the rest of the band wither under the lights. Drummer Einar Karl Júlíusson puts in a hell of a shift to ensure that the rhythm and energy is maintained at top gear throughout the record’s runtime, especially in the galloping Ride The Distant Storm, whilst vocalist Atli Guðlaugsson is hugely impressive with his sweeping and crystal clear vocal deliveries; especially on album highlight Into The Forbidden Forest. Akin to genre greats like BLIND GUARDIAN‘s Hansi Kürsch or HELLOWEEN‘s Michael Kiske, Guðlaugsson has a commanding presence across the record’s runtime and his dynamic and highly impressive range helps reinforce the sheer epic feelings experienced as the record blasts its way into your eardrums.
Indeed, what POWER PALADIN have presented here is highly impressive, especially given With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel is their debut outing. And yet, for all the right the record does, the very fact that POWER PALADIN stick firmly to the rulebook of power metal could be seen as nothing new or particularly original. With next to no diversions off the well beaten path, power metal obsessives may find what POWER PALADIN offer here to be nothing new or fresh. However, there’s playing it safe and being derivative, and there’s excelling in your specified craft and the Icelandic troupe sit comfortably in the latter camp; With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel is power metal at its most utterly infectious.
Dynamic song-writing, thumping heavy metal fun and enough cheese to top pizzas aplenty, POWER PALADIN have struck gold with With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel. Yes, it doesn’t reinvent the wheel for power metal, but what this record does is stick firmly to the blueprint and the end result is emphatic and most importantly; it is damn good fun. With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel is a confident and empowering debut record from POWER PALADIN and one in which establishes themselves firmly as a new challenger. To battle!
Rating: 9/10
With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel is out now via Atomic Fire Records.
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