• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Well this was a pleasant surprise, the discovery of a talented young five piece who have been working their asses off to attain a fair level of recognition. I say this not because the youngsters of Borealis, who hail from the small Canadian town of Orangeville in the province of Ontario have been writing music together since 2005 - obviously this distinction alone is not enough for us who revel in the underground metal scene to take notice. However, what distinguishes Borealis from the legions of young metal bands striving to carve out their own swath of real estate in the Heavy Metal landscape is the level of maturity in terms of songwriting ability, and the manner in which they execute the song structures instrumentally, both of which are critical assets to have in your toolbox if you want to achieve any level of success in an already competitive and crowded marketplace.

Borealis' music comfortably fits into the Power Metal category, but it would be a discredit to just classify them as ordinary straightforward Power Metal. No, Borealis incorporate multiple styles that I would describe as melodic, Progressive Power Metal highlighted with symphonic elements. The tempo displayed throughout the album is mid-paced to fairly fast. In terms of making comparisons with some of the headliners of the genre, I predominantly hear a fair amount of Vanishing Point, but you also pick up hints of Kamelot and Evergrey at various times. Vocalist Matt Marinelli, who also handles the guitar duties, has a rather deep and heavy voice, which can most notably be compared to Tom England of Evergrey fame. Being such a young band, Borealis have already had the honor of sharing the stage with such luminaries as Edguy, Kamelot and Sonata Arctica. Given that, along with the quality of the material on this CD it is a little surprising they haven't secured a record deal.

Now I don't want to mislead anyone; all in all World Of Silence is a very good album, especially for a self-financed debut, but at nearly one hour in length, I must honesty say I found my interest level waning toward the back end of the album. A good lesson these youngsters need to take into future recording sessions is that quality trumps quantity in this business, especially when it comes to providing your current and future fan base with what is most important: a pleasurable listening experience from beginning to end. Another flaw would be the sameness that exists between some of the songs, as it relates to World Of Silence. These two hiccups are the two most glaring pratfalls which separates goodness from greatness, a wrinkle the band must iron out when writing material for future releases. A worthy effort from a young band worth keeping your eye on.