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Returning to the familiar in both place and time, Finnish Power Metal darlings Celesty are back on Spinefarm and have picked up where their much-lauded Legacy of Hate opus left off before 2006's Mortal Mind Creation took the band to the very fringes of innovation. Now onto chapter four of the ridiculous magical sword saga the band initiated with their immense Reign of Elements, Vendetta practically eschews the crushing riffing and technical prowess of its dark, twisted predecessor, leading the band back down the garden path and into the Power Metal gingerbread house where Rhapsody, Dark Moor, and Fairyland currently reside, bringing back the humongous choirs, the sweeping orchestration, and the ubiquitous platter of thundering double-bass, duel-harmony guitars, and enough Stratovarius-isms to make Tolkki and co wish they just hadn't bothered.

Kicking off with the frankly glorious "Euphoric Dream", Vendetta increases your pulse with its first note, a track armed to the teeth with all the saccharine-coated staples the genre has come to behold. Laced with a deadly use of keys and a wicked vocal melody, this is one of the finest songs the band has ever crafted. Keeping thematic relevance with the pelting "Like Warriors" and the galloping "New Sin", the symphonics take precedence over everything else, leaving frontman Antti Railio fighting amongst the orchestral congeries for a decent foothold. Things become even more convoluted with "Autumn Leaves"; an almost Nightwish-like display of symphonic overuse that would have ruined the track if it didn't boast such a memorable chorus. There are calmer moments here and there, but for the most part Celesty have really put the pedal to the metal with Vendetta, and despite the slight return to form, the headway made with Mortal Mind Creation seems to have vanished in the exchange, leaving me to wonder where the band can go from here. If Celesty take more steps backward in order to move forward, their career is going to look like a Twister mat. Let's just hope they don't topple and fall like so many others.