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Raleigh, North Carolina's Widow are back with their fifth album Carved in Stone. Traditional Heavy Metal is the band's style and Carved in Stone is similar to 2011's Life's Blood if even a little more U.S.-based and a little less NWOBHM. The songwriting is simple and catchy with lyrics that don't try to be deep or esoteric, much like bands of the early to mid 80s. Nope, just crank up the guitars and sing about tried-and-true Metal topics. "Burning Star" is about someone (or something) special in the singer's life, "Live by the Flame" is a cool anthem and "Of the Blood, We Bind" sounds almost like it could be about Voldemort from the Harry Potter books. The production is clear and the guitars are especially bright with some excellent lead work.

There's nothing groundbreaking on Carved in Stone, just solid, memorable and well-written songs that should appeal to fans that remember a time when albums like Dokken's Tooth and Nail, Savatage's Power of the Night and even TT Quick's Medal of Honor showed that America could play Heavy Metal, not just glam crap.