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Born of the now defunct Dungeon, one of Australia's premier Power Metal powerhouses who called it quits in 2005, Lord have come to establish themselves as purveyors of top shelf Power Metal very much in the likeness of their ancestors. Their previous output, 2007's Ascendence I thought was an ear splitting wave of sonic goodness, easily one of the best Power Metal albums that I had heard in a long while. Set In Stone lifts the baton and sprints forward, basically picking up where Ascendence left off, with blistering riffs, searing lightning quick solos, powerful double bass kicks and the awesome vocal abilities of one Lord Tim Grose, who by the way can shred admirably on the guitar as well, all of which serves to solidify what history has already taught us, that these Aussies are a talent rich group of musicians who bring a multitude of superstar-like skills to the party, beginning first and foremost with the vocal pipes of Lord Tim, whose soaring, powerful vocals are among the very best the Power Metal world has to offer. The same can be said for the musicianship and songwriting, every one of the songs showcased on Set In Stone are catchy and well rounded and last but certainly not least the performances of the musicians warrants a first class rating.

The album starts out with the obligatory short intro common with most Power Metal albums which quickly succumbs to the brutal riff-laden, double bass attack of "Redemption", a hard hitting opening volley that aside from being heavy, combines astonishing melody and beautiful harmonious choruses, dramatically setting the stage for what is to follow. "100 Reasons" is a hard driving rocker of an anthem with an infectious groove and further showcasing the powerful vocal chords of Lord Tim in addition to the stunning vocal harmonies which are repeated throughout the entire album. As the album gallops along it becomes apparent that we are covering some pretty diverse territory, ranging from AOR-type rock anthems like the previously mentioned "100 Reasons" to straight up metal smashers like "Set In Stone" and "Beyond The Light" to Speed/Thrash metal, with "Redemption" and "Eternal Storm", to the semi-ballad and passionate "Forever" and "New Horizon", hell you even have Lord Tim chartering foreign waters by belting out screeching Black Metal-like vocals on "Someone Else's Dream" and "The End Of Days" and I cannot close without mentioning the mind-numbing guitar work on display on the instrumental piece "Be My Guest".

Set In Stone without question raises the bar to a whole new level. It holds firm footing as an album which should appeal to a wide range of fans, and as such hopefully will spring board these Power Metal legends toward attaining a higher level of recognition to which they are deserving.