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Dionysus is a band made up of former members of some pretty well known bands (well known to Metalheads in any case..heh). You have members from Sinergy, Nation and vocals provided by the vocalist from Luca Turilli’s side project.

Olaf Hayer-Vocals
Ronny Milianowicz-Drums
Johnny Ohlin-Guitars
Nobby-Bass
Kaspar Dahlqvist-Keyboards

Now this isn’t the greatest assortment of talent I have ever seen but it sure isn’t bad and for this album it is pretty damn good. Add to all of this with production from Tommy Newton (Helloween’s classic’s Keeper I and II) and co-produced with the help of Tobias Sammet (The person I have decided to name Golden Boy since everything he is involved in has been excellent) I knew before I even listened to this it would probably be pretty damn good. Well I certainly wasn’t disappointed with the outcome. You can tell from the pedigree of the band that this is power metal and although it is strongly influenced by Helloween (hell what power metal isn’t influenced by Helloween…heh) it isn’t what you could even remotely consider a rip-off. The music is very well written and gives a nod to traditional pure metal as well the obvious power metal influence. The vocals are excellent but I have heard this guy sing before and already knew he was talented. He does seem to sing with a bit more energy or passion on this album compared to his work with Luca. The highlight of the album for me though was the excellent guitar work provided by Johnny Ohlin. The riffs are very good but his solo work is simply incredible. He not only simply shreds but it is done with a lot of feeling as well. There is definitely a neo-classical feel to his playing style which boosts the songs to that extra level and makes them that much more memorable.

Overall an album that I actually had some pretty high expectations for and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Fans of the genre will certainly want to pick this one up. Recommended.

Favorite Tracks – Sign of Truth, Pouring Rain, Holy War