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Make it Dark is my first go round with Virginia's Twisted Tower Dire. Based on what I'd heard from, and about, them as well as some reviews of past albums I've read, I was expecting some dark, "US" Power Metal in the vein of Jag Panzer or Omen, but the album is not that at all. There is a definite upbeat quality to most of the songs so that, to my ears, Make it Dark sounds like a cross between Thundersteel-era Riot and early Tygers of Pan Tang.

The tempos are quick and the riffs are fast and, for the most part, rather simple. Singer Jonny Aune's delivery has that early 80s, happy-go-lucky quality, noticeable on the choruses of songs like "Mystera" and "Snow Leopard," that underscored the NWOBHM's connection to the Hard Rock of the 70s. Truly, I was ready for something completely different. Only "Beyond the Gate," with its ominous themes and twisted (pun intended) time changes fit the mold, as it were. Don't get me wrong, I like Make it Dark quite a bit as I'm a sucker for 80's style, upbeat metal, and other fans of that type of music should like it as well. But I'll caution longtime fans of the band to keep the following words in mind; buyer beware.