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Good Old Italian Power Metal, how long it has been since I've heard it done well. Thankfully Flashback of Anger are a breath of fresh air through my speakers - of course we all expect this won't be the most original release of the year. What we have is the perfect blend of Return To Heaven Denied-period Labyrinth, healthily blended with the awesome Secret Sphere. Much like Secret Sphere these guys aren't afraid to crank things up in the heaviness department; we're treated to some stomping riffs. Of course the usual suspects all rear their faces, sublime keyboard work courtesy of singer Alessio Gori (who toured with Gamma Ray as their keyboardist). His vocal work is the usual fare for this sort of stuff, with very smooth delivery. However we do see him crank things up with some pretty aggressive delivery in the title track – reminding greatly of Fabio Lione's performance on Vision Divine's "The Killing Speed of Time". The guitar work is pretty sweet here, with some nice neo-classical work and some damn cool riffs.

After a solid intro piece we're finally introduced to Flashback of Anger, with as perfect a Power Metal intro as you could hope for, swirling keyboards intertwined with speedy riffage over a solid backbone of furious drum work – rounded off nicely with a nice catchy chorus. "Time Can Answer" is a personal highlight for me, with some molten fret action and dazzling keyboards, one of the tracks that more prominently remind of Secret Sphere. Another highlight is the aforementioned title track, certainly one of the more original cuts and the vocal work is great - I wish they had of implemented more of this style throughout. The coolest track on offer has to be "Back in the Nightmare," with superior arrangement it's a cut I believe Flashback of Anger manage to put their own unique stamp on – a true rarity in Italian Prog/Power. Fortunately there's nothing to offend on Splinters of Life, a truly sincere affair and a charming debut at that. Fans of Power Metal owe it to themselves to check this out and support their genre. While this doesn't break any new ground, and certainly won't change any previously established opinions of the Italian Prog/Power scene, I can safely say this is a good album and a cut above the endless amount of false pretenders. If Labyrinth's new direction has left a big void in your life this is the album for you. Recommended