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Get these guys another full-length please! Brainchild of Insania frontman Ola Halén, Shadows Past already have three full-lengths to their name, though this is my first experience with the act. Whilst researching them I checked out a few of their earlier tracks which were pretty standard Melodic Power Metal with a slight neoclassical leaning. What I'm hearing here is a completely different band; whilst still retaining their Power Metal routes there's an injection of prog-inspired flavors resulting in interesting structures and some sweet musicianship. Some of this is really interesting; take a look at "Cry No More". opening with a pompous riff which sifts into a crushing riff that in turn drifts into a stunning, jackhammer-like Progressive Metal riff. Ola's vocals are superb as always, the guy sounds fantastic – in fact probably the best he ever has. The choruses soar brilliantly, and while there are some predictable keyboard and guitar solo sections – for example the first keyboard and guitar solo in the aforementioned "Cry No More" – for the most part Shadows Past remain interesting. "Who Am I?" spews out with an utterly classy riff – feeling out of place, yet so right – leading into a sweet machine gun riff. The chorus to this track has a slight Stratovarius feel to it, the solo section is pretty tasty with some particularly effective lead guitar work. "Perfect Chapter" opens with a bizarre riff that you wouldn't attribute to a Prog/Power Metal act; the main riffage throughout the track has a certain Jani Liimatainen feel to it, again a nice soaring chorus and a quality solo section. If they could spread the quality of this release over a full-length we'd certainly be on to a treat – let's just hope we see one sooner rather than later. A damn fine Prog/Power metal release that's certainly worth checking out, some really nice ideas make these guys a band to look out for in the future. Recommended.