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Pittsburgh's Legendry are a band reaching back to the very early days of heavy metal when Rush, Manilla Road and Pagan Altar were working out the transition from the heavy but sometimes trippy prog rock that was popular in the late '70s to the more recognizable traditional metal of the early '80s. The Wizard and the Tower Keep is a mix of straight up metal and meandering epics that sometimes struggle to keep the listener's interest. "Vindicator", "The Lost Road" and "Behind the Summoner's Seal" crackle with energy and bring the heavy metal thunder (as much as the muted production will allow, anyway) and should be immediately embraced by fans of early Manilla Road or newer bands like Visigoth. "The Bard's Tale" is an acoustic number that reminds me of Blind Guardian. "The Wizard and the Tower Keep", "Sorcery's Bane" and "Earthwarrior" are the epic numbers that as I said before can wander around with softer, introspective melodies and vocal lines but also tend to have parts where the intensity picks up. Think those early Rush multi-part cuts like "By-Tor and the Snow Dog" or "Cygnus X-1".

I really like what Legendry is doing, even if a few things don't work as well as they might, and the sound could really be fuller. The bones of something special are there on The Wizard and the Tower Keep.