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Well, well, another Cryonic Temple album. I loved the hell out of "Blood, Guts, and Glory", and I was really anticipating this one. Once again we get an album full of no-apologies metal with a really cool cover painting. I do have to admit that "In Thy Power" is not as good as their last album, but it is still pretty damned good.

The first thing you will notice, after the Standard Boring Intro Track, is that Cryonic Temple are making no attempt to evolve or change in the slightest. That said, the musicianship on this album has really taken a leap. Esa Ahonen was always a fast, clean guitar player, but his leads and riffs have just flown way beyond anything else he has ever done. The riffage is melodic and catchy beyond anything on their previous two albums, and the leads are impressive as hell. The first six songs on this disc are just killer, and "Beast Slayer" is probably the best song this band has ever recorded, but the second half of this album runs out of momentum in a major way, and makes you wonder what the hell happened. "Mr. Gold" and "Rapid Fire" are just dull, and "A Soldier's Tale" is actually silly. "Shark Attack" is also silly, but it kicks ass anyway. Too bad the closer "Eternal Flames Of Metal" is so unmemorable.

So we have a trade-off. On one hand you get awesome cuts like "Wolfcry" and the title cut, which will get stuck in your head and make you headbang for days. On the other hand you get crap like "Mr. Gold". One of the things I liked most about "Blood, Guts and Glory" was how consistent it was, and that there were no dead spots on the album, but "In Thy Power" doesn't quite manage that. If you liked their other albums, then this is a no-brainer, as some of their best music is on here, but the album as a whole in uneven. This kind of has the feel of the kind of album a band makes right before they make the best album of their careers, so I don't know: this might signal that Cryonic Temple are in a rut, or it might mean their classic album is right around the corner. Time will tell.