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Colombia's Vorpal Nomad sound suspiciously European on their debut release Hyperborea, and by European I mean German, and by German I mean Gamma Ray, and by Gamma Ray I mean Iron Savior. Even the vocals here sound similar to Piet Sielck's... Wait a minute, he does backing vocals as well as mixes and masters? No surprises there then, although this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Quite the contrary, as this is amongst some of the coolest music I've heard in the style this year. Whilst the album doesn't completely wow from the first proper track Vorpal Nomad kick things right up on "The Brotherhood" and from here onwards the band are mining a thick vein of quality.

Vorpal Nomad aren't going to win themselves any awards as far as originality is concerned, although I'm sure they'll stand a fair chance of winning the hearts of power metal fans. Especially – and I really can't stress this enough – fans of the German school, and particularly fans of Iron Savior. Performances are well handled across the board, and the production is vibrant yet meaty. I've always approved of Piet's work with other bands and Vorpal Nomad are no stranger to this. The album flows well and increases in quality throughout which is certainly rewarding as you know the best is yet to come.

Whilst I've said this is hardly original, Hyperborea is 100% enjoyable and tracks such as the smashing "Final Cry For Freedom" housing its magic chorus, the goofy yet ridiculously awesome stop at a certain tea party in "The Mad Hatter" or the nine minutes plus of "As The Otherworld Falls Dawn" showing the band are a dab hand at grandeur. All in all you could do a lot worse when looking for that power metal fix, European power metal fans should really check Hyperborea out.