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It took Pandaemonium six years to follow their strange and enticing debut from 1999, and though not an awful lot of improvement was made during that time, the Italians did manage to strip themselves to a four-piece for their easy to stomach second disc, the fantasy-drenched Return To Reality. There are moments during this when I absolutely adore this band; their guitar leads are so sickly melodic they make you feel like you're in a dream (and the nature of the lyrics back up this notion). What Pandaemonium have done here is streamline the mad sound of their debut into something easier to digest; even wailing vocalist Daniel Reda has calmed a little, though his voice is still fragile, scary, and high as hell. He sounds rather feminine during "Miracle", but throughout opener "Time Of Glory" he commands the mic with considerable force. With a little work, this band could have really been something, as their output in this genre is original to say the least.

In the grand scheme of things, Return To Reality is Power Metal to the very core, and actually it sounds better than the debut in that it isn't quite as adventurous; everything you hear will recall attempts by Highlord, Athena, and even Derdian, but they make the most out of their template; it sounds as if their hearts are heavily invested. Through a shower of double-kicks, harmony-laced guitars, big, powerful choruses and enough wailing to make Timo Kotipelto blush, the final release from this once promising band is something for the Power Metaller in all of us. And once again, it boasts some stunning artwork.