WHIRLWIND STORM - Shadowlight
SPAIN
After an interesting intro with orchestral choirs, the song "Unfold" is heard with notable influences of Power Metal due to its melodic form and blas beat, at the same time it shows itself with something of a symphonic style judging by the inclusion of female voices and symphonic keyboard arrangements, "Oracle of Amun" has a bearing more inclined to Heavy Metal with elements of the Middle East, leaving aside the voice, it could be compared to the darkness transmitted by the classic records of Mercyful fate, the third track "The Silent Ghost" is an analogy of a ghost to a deception with someone, this song abruptly cuts the content of the album with a softer sound with piano and clean female voice, the fourth track "The Chains of Andromeda" and "Utgard" allude to Greek and Norse mythology respectively and have a structure very close to traditional heavy metal with orchestral arrangements, both songs with synthesizer effects reminiscent of the heavy rock of the s 70s and 80s, the song "Shadowlight" has a quite interesting structure and worthy of appreciation, especially for its beginning, its cut of silence and constant rhythm changes, going through aggressive, melodic and melancholic moments, in the same way "Alchemy" presents these changes, but with less intensity, "Black Soul Stone" contains a quite persuasive riff and a spectacular guitar solo, preserving a traditional Heavy Metal style throughout the song with occasional symphonic interventions, after the third instrumental cut "Lady Fair" enters another song that begins with a relaxing 80s-style synthesizer and a melodic female voice that does not lose its harmony with the guitar distortions, followed by the song "Fistful of Grog" has an approach to speed metal with influences from folk metal by its pirate theme, even so, is a good mix also linked with eventual piano components. The album ends with the fourth instrumental cut "XVII" that mixes heavy metal with sounds from the Middle Ages.
In my conclusion the album has good performances of Metal styles, which cuts across traditional Heavy Metal, Power Metal, Speed Metal and Symphonic/Gothic Metal, although the male singing voice is not very eloquent and uninspiring it is well executed, the structures of the songs are not flat and I consider that it links well the styles of Metal with folk elements from different regions of the world. Regarding the content, the relationship that the album has with mythologies from different parts of the world is very interesting, fantasies are mixed with poetry and epic/warlike attitudes, occasionally talking about calmer and/or melancholic events. This album recalls some classics of Power Metal and Heavy Metal.
