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Winter's Verge, hailing from Cyprus, of all places, serves up a healthy dose of European Power Metal on their new album Tales of Tragedy. Let me start by complimenting the band on the very cool cover art. Two men-of-war from the age of sail pitch and roll in rough seas, one with sails fully deployed while the other appears ready to founder, presumably after being attacked by the first ship. This is the kind of imagery that makes you think "this album MUST be cool" and you buy it for that reason alone. Of course, eventually, the music determines quality of the purchase.

Tales of Tragedy is Power Metal at its most bombastic and grandiose. If you are familiar with the band Timeless Miracle, you'll have a very good idea what Tales of Tragedy sounds like. Sharp, but gritty, guitars are supported by a generous amount of keyboards, but neither overpowers the other, rather they are quite complementary. Singer George Charalambous is nearly Timeless Miracle's Mikael Holst's vocal doppelganger, which amplifies the déjà vu factor of the music. Both singers have slightly rough mid-range voices but can hit the high notes when necessary.

Tales of Tragedy is in the style of Timeless Miracle's Into the Enchanted Chamber, as well as sounding similar to that album, but avoids being a rip off somehow. Perhaps it is because the songs aren't quite as good as those on Chamber. Tales of Tragedy is catchy yet not truly infectious. While I found myself tapping my foot while it was on, none of the songs hung around in my brain afterwards. As a result, I would rate Winter's Verge's songwriting skills to be a notch below some of their more accomplished peers. There are some songs that are above average like "Old Man's Wish" and "Tomorrow's Dawn," a song with a chorus that can make you forget the everyday crap going on around you. Others fall below the line, like "Dark Entries" with its uninspired chorus, and the dull ballad "Madness Once Called Love."

Tales of Tragedy is a solid Power Metal album and quite consistent throughout. The good songs are good, not great, and the OK songs are OK, not horrible. Power Metal fans will enjoy Tales of Tragedy, but it isn't a life changer, simply a very good album. Neither a step forward nor a step back for Winter's Verge.