Search - Winterfell :: The Veil of Summer

The nearly eight minute long opener Threnody displays Winterfell from all its sides: near-thrash guitar thunderstorms in conjunction with melodic semi-ballad moments, carried by the voice of a singer who still deserves that name. Inspired by the likes of Rush and Iron Maiden, Winterfell manage to combine the progressive mindset of the former with the virtuoso playing of the latter, although by adding a contemporary heaviness, the come close to the power metal style of Nevermore, early Fates Warning and Queensrÿche. Most of the time the band stays in a welcome melodic power metal genre, although much heavier than most of its European counterparts, only the band's shortest song The Iris (and still more than four minutes long) is a true thrash prog song. The moderately high vocals remind of the heyday of Iced Earth, meaning you get a true virile metal voice. The bass sounds more melodic than with many other bands, and the guitars, when they are not fighting each other with killer chords, do some nice complicated signature changes. The drums take well care to pound the whole thing on. The Veil Of Summer offers a short hour of some of the best metal I have heard this year, and proving that you don't always need a label to make a killer album.