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This is roughly what I would call "symphonic" and the band bill themselves as "Extreme Wizard Metal," but really this band exists to ape the sound of classic Bal-Sagoth and for no other reason. Might seem like kind of a dick move, as most of the original Bal-Sagoth lineup is active and recording as Kull, a band who have gotten much less attention than this one.

This is a kind of supergroup, including musicians who have made the rounds with a lot of other well-known bands. You get drums by Eric Brown, drummer of pirate Thrash band Swashbuckle, guitars by Matthew Bell, who has done time in Folkearth and Folkodia, and the ubiquitous Chris Bowes of Alestorm and Gloryhammer on keys. All of them are apparently motivated to try and imitate the sound of Bal-Sagoth, which I consider a worthy goal, since the original band has fallen silent.

Overall, this sounds closer to Bal-Sagoth in the broad details than even Kull manage, mostly because vocalist Jake Jones does a better Byron impression than Tarkan Alp. The compositions are not as good as the old Bal-Sagoth days, because I just don't think anybody here is a musician on a par with the Maudling brothers, and the songs are highly derivative of the classic Bal-Sagoth sounds, to the point where I think it verges into theft. At first blush this sounds so much like the old Byron Roberts days it will get your attention, but repeated listens will point up how imitative and thin the music here really is. This is amusing, but shallow.