• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

I can’t say I fancy the name of this Icelandic group and the title of their debut album (With the Magic of Windfyre Steel) is cheesier than the state of Wisconsin, but their brand of power metal is another matter entirely. Pure, unadulterated, turn-of-the-millennium speed, high-pitched singing, neoclassical leads and double-kick drums await you from the first notes of "Kraven the Hunter" to the final fade of "There Can Be Only One." Oh, and all the fantasy lyrics they could jam into 51+ minutes to boot. It is all familiar territory Power Paladin are covering, but they do it so well I don’t care. There are no bad songs but a few stand above the rest. "Ride the Distant Storm" has all the majestic sweep of Dragonforce and the sweet melodies of Angra with a touch of Odin’s grit while "Into the Forbidden Forest" is Kiske-era Helloween all the way, trading on those characteristic machine gun drums and twin guitar melodies. If the giants of late ’90s/early 2000s power metal make your pulse race, Power Paladin should be right up your alley.