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"Twilight on Humanity" is the label debut for US power metallers Zandelle. The music sports crunchy guitars more reminiscent of a mix of heavy and thrash than the usual power metal guitar sound, but other than that Zandelle are not without reminding me of the European power metal sound that's been pretty popular over the last few years: High-pitched vocals and slight abuse of the double bass drum - although not nearly as bad as many power metal outfits. The singer is quite competent, although he has kind of a "nasal" edge to his voice that sometimes makes it a bit difficult to stomach, especially after a couple of listens in a row - want it or not at some point I felt like taking a break and listening to something else. Also I found the vocals to be a bit too high, and while that suits some of the songs pretty well, in a few instances that was just downright annoying. He uses a "trailing" tone of voice on a ballad on the album which gives it a very draggy feeling - I wouldn't say that this ruins the song, but it's definitely a song they could have left off the album.

Despite some shortcomings, there's a lot to like on "Twilight on Humanity". Despite numerous lineup changes, the band is pretty tight, the music is pretty much "in your face", very energetic and, let's admit it straight out, it's quite entertaining and makes for a good listen. While the European power metal influences are noticeable, there's still enough originality in here to say that the band has its own sound. Hopefully the next release will see the band seeking its sound even more, and the singer will tone it down a bit. Recommended for heavy and power metal fans alike.