Time

There is an affinity between power metal and the concept of time, one that goes beyond the characteristic duality of rapid-paced speed metal trappings and precision-based slower grooves that act as respites or points of contrast. One might note such classic songs out of Helloween's seminal period with Michael Kiske such as "A Little Time" or "The March Of Time", or the near equally consequential progressive-tinged "Time" out of Angra's 1993 debut Angel's Cry as examples of the style's lyrical fascination with the measure of our existence, either for nostalgic or existential reasons. The passage of time has brought a greater variety of musical policies since these albums originally broke the proverbial mold ever since, yet more often than not, the latest crop of bands tend to find themselves referring back to them to a great extent. In keeping with this, a fairly young Costa Rican adherent to the same power metal tradition in Wings Of Destiny, one that happens to embody many of the musical trappings of the two aforementioned bands, has staked their own musical claim on this same concept on their debut Time, leaning a bit more on the existential side of the coin lyrically, though musically it has a stronger than usual affinity with the mighty heroism of dragon-slaying and wizardry exemplified in mainland Europe's signature power metal sound since the late 90s revival.

Though this album can be summed up as a fairly conservative restatement of what makes the power metal such a musically exciting and compelling outgrowth of the original 80s heavy metal sound, it opts for a few notably surprising and well-placed twists that result in a highly unique take on the style. In addition to the usual assortment of Keepers Of The Seven Keys and Angel's Cry influences, there is a noted Neo-classical tinge to things, particularly in the shred-happy guitar work, the veers back and forth between the largely orthodox Malmsteen emulations put forth by Dushan Petrossi's flagship projects Iron Mask and Magic Kingdom and the darker, heavier progressive world of the likes of Symphony X and Adagio. There are no slouches in the instrumental department, as between the bass contributions of Rubén Hernández and guest musician Bryan S. Molina there is a raunchy yet precise brilliance beneath the wailing guitars and biting vocals that mixes the talents of Markus Grosskopf and Mike LePond quite effectively. Interestingly enough, the true outlier that really gives this album's sound a personality all its own is vocalist Anton Darusso, who manages to work in an assortment of gravely and smooth vocalizations that bridge the gap between Andi Deris and Russell Allen, and even sneaks in a few well-placed harsh shouts out of the Adagio playbook.

The line that is walked between the more and less conventional here results in a highly satisfying and even spellbinding collection of songs that are sugary enough to rope in the Stratovarius crowd yet also hard-hitting enough to pay homage to power metal's more recent fixation with working in thrash and melodic death metal elements. Even when dabbling in more conventional speeding mixtures of melody and shred-happy Neo-classical bluster as on "Destiny", "Time" and "Forgive But Not Forget", things are a bit more nuanced than a typical Helloween-inspired romp, often veering into territory slightly comparable to Masterplan between the heavy production and Darusso channeling Jorn Lande about as often as he does singers from the older days of the sub-genre. Generally speaking the longer the songs go, the more tilted towards the Symphony X direction things go, with "Fallen Angel" and "From Shadows" being the most auspiciously technical and frenetic displays of technique of the bunch. All things considered, often times a band will truly showcase the strength of their sound when they project it onto a admitted classic via cover, and this band's interpretation of Helloween's "I Want Out" stands as one of the few cases where a band completely alters the character of the original and comes out with something equally as compelling, in this case turning a straightforward nod to Gary Moore into a mishmash of intricate power/prog elements while still keeping the song sonically recognizable.

As far as newcomers to the world of power metal go, this riveting collection of anthems is about as good as it got for 2015, showcasing every strength of the style while systematically avoiding most of the cliches that it often receives flack for overusing. It isn't a fully out of nowhere situation as this band did exist for a few years under the name Destiny since about 2013 and incrementally worked up to this finished product over the span of a couple years, releasing a number of different versions before this finalized one, but it's about as close of a jolting, out of nowhere new classic as one could get, especially considering that Costa Rica's metal scene has largely been overshadowed by the longstanding ones in Brazil and Argentina, not to mention the burgeoning one that has begun taking shape in Peru. Time is an album that easily rivals the old guard at just about every point, and represents one of those rare situations where a young band gets it almost perfect right from the beginning. Self-respecting power metal fans of every shape and side should definitely be checking this album out, from the fantasy nerds of the olden days to the tech loving, modern intellectuals of the new, because that old friend known as Time is most assuredly on our side.

This review is dedicated to the memory of Christopher Santaniello, aka Diamhea. (R.I.P.)