Stormwind - Reflections

Year of Release: 2001
Label: Massacre Records
Catalog Number: MAS-CD 0303
Format: CD
Total Time: 45:06:00

Happy metal from Sweden with Stormwind's fifth release Reflections which capitalises on their successful Resurrection and re-released Stargate discs.

Catchy. Melodic. Metal. Three words that some people love and some people get sick of. Think fellow Swedes Zonata, Supreme Majesty, Crystal Eyes, Blacksmith, HammerFall, Majestic, Insania, & Nostradameus and you know what you are getting.

For those who missed said bands, what you do get here is well played, catchy melodic metal centered around sweeping guitarist Thomas Wolf who puts in an amazing performance with his solo guitar tricks. This CD seems more guitar oriented rather than song oriented. Thomas throws in a delicious amount of heavy and classical guitar parts to complement his solos. In general, the songs have a mid-tempo feel to them although they do branch out on the odd occasion (in both directions) but the heavy parts are not necessarily in-your-face heavy. There are plenty of beats, melodies, and hooks throughout Reflections to keep your toe tapping if that is your thing.

Vocalist Thomas Vikström (ex-Brazen Abbot) delivers a capable performance that doesn't remove himself from others in the genre and his clean voice handles the lyrics nicely. It is also nice to see Kaspar Dahlqvist (ex-Treasure Land) return to the fold of metal delivering classical interpretations on his keyboards. Symphonic touches are also present but not to the extent of Rhapsody or Secret Sphere. Think of a less progressive KenZiner. Production is smooth and not overbearing - it's easy listening melodic metal which sits nicely between AOR and power metal.

This is not genre defining material but then again not everything has to be fresh and new. What is on offer is more than adequate - it's just totally unoriginal.

[This review originally appeared November 2002 at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.]

Tracklisting:
Genesis / War Of Troy / The Man Behind The Iron Mask / Reflections / Illusion / Golden Tears / Queen Of Nine Days / Dynasty / Assassin Of Honour / Ramses

Musicians:
Thomas Wolf - guitar
Thomas Vikström - vocals
Kaspar Dahlqvist - keyboards
Patrick Johansson - drums
Andreas Olsson - bass

Discography:
Straight From Your Heart (1996)
Stargate (1998)
Heaven Can Wait 1999)
Resurrection (2000)
Reflections (2001)
Rising Symphony (2003)

Genre: Progressive-Power Metal

Origin SE

Added: February 20th 2005
Reviewer: Gary Carson
Score:
Artist website: www.stormwind.nu
Hits: 1674
Language: english