A Flame to the Ground Beneath

Being at a supple young age of 15 at the time, it was online that I discovered these masters of metal. Well, truthfully the knowledge of this band was generously offered to me by my friend and Power Metal connoisseur, Alex of the band "Chapel". As per usual to most scenarios where this band (LH) is shared amongst the community, it was introduced to me as a way of competing with the novelty of another Power Metal band's vocals (I believe it was something run-of-the-mill like Dragonland or Rhapsody), and Lost Horizon was to prevail over all other Power Metal bands with their vocals, along with the epic atmosphere of their efforts, and highly-disciplined musicianship that resides the band's strong stance in the Power Metal world ever since.

Lost Horizon are fairly renowned for their appropriate cheese factor, but are more so renowned for their ridiculous singer, Daniel Heiman. Daniel poses as a sort of Idol of the throat in the metal world, being second to ab-so-lute-ly none in this department. His soaring vocals that seem almost limitless, presenting no evidence of using falsetto or airy head voices, are truly astounding. It has been rumoured that some singers have outdone Daniel in his range, but this has never been backed up. No male metal singer will ever be able to pinch off that astounding high D in the song "Highlander (the one)" on this album.

Anyway, on with the review.

This album is a Power Metal idol; second to none. It has everything from amazingly high and low male vocals, disciplined musicianship, well-structured leads and solos, and it's all coated tastefully with very epic, ambient synths. It's a record that will keep your feet double-tapping and your head bobbing without you even realising it.

The sound is floor-bolted very precisely by the drummer, maintaining a mechanically impeccable rhythm and timing. The position of the drummer seems to flower into the department of discipline, precision and timing more than anything. He is more like a human metronome than a metal drummer. As some may find this aspect of the percussionary role to be boring in other scenarios, this style of drumming is actually highly appropriate for this album. This style adds a somewhat technical aura to the sound, but also accentuates the guitars and bass superbly. Although the vocals and drums don't share an intertwining role in relation to the concoction that is mustered by each instrumental part adding to the recipe, they still share a fraternal position in the album.

The keyboards are very, VERY present in this album. Oh, yes indeed. Most "epic" Power Metal bands are putridly awash with inappropriate and excessive keyboards and synths, overpowering the guitars and just generally stinking out any promising potential. But not in this album. The keyboards and synths in the album have had their presence set at the perfect level. Although the ambient synths obviously bear a distinct role in this release, they are in no way excessive or inappropriate. No, the keyboards and ambient synths here are very relevant to their preset position, and add a marvelous, epic atmosphere.

The guitars in this album are very, very structured, and act as the ribs and veins of the group. A lot of their work is original, and mostly play as almost a second platform of percussion. The guitar leads are obviously written to be played dually, and the solos are tastefully played, seldom wanky and provide a great feel and spice to the already-superior ensemblic sound. They have a very clean-cut and crisp tone, ranging from the high-end leads that cut through the low-end rhythm guitars, creating an all-round professionally-executed, atmospheric sound. Although there is a lot of reverb and delay, it maintains a relevant position in the general sound and feel of the album.

The reason for the small drop in points is the limited presence of virtuosic bass work. Although the production of this album is very bassy, there is no real "time to shine" for the bass in this album. Being in preference of the stringed department, I would rather the focus be on the guitars and virtuosic bass, as the bass and guitar are the sole stitching for the drums and vocals. I believe the bassist has a lot of potential and is in a high position being a part of this ensemble, and it would have been nice to have a little more focus on him. But, his effort does provide the sound with balls, which I guess is what is needed in these sorts of releases.

And now for my favourite aspect of this album, and the band in general: The vocals. There is no subtle way to put it; they are FUCK - ING - UN - BE - LIEVE - ABLE. Daniel's vocal range is spastic, ranging from the very lows to the ridiculous highs, without resorting, at all, to falsetto. I would say he easily has a 5 1/2-octave range, pitching his highest note recorded at the ridiculous high-D in the song "Highlander", at around 7:15 minutes. Daniel has, easily, the most prominent role in this album. His vocal abilities are unmatched, and are pretty much the reason that Lost Horizon kicks the shit out of any other Power Metal band. He has a sweet vibrato, maintaining its strength at every pitch, and occasionally adds a very subtle yet tricky rasp to his vocals when the most epic moments approach in each track. I might also like to add that in his shining moment, in Highlander, he still adds a subtle rasp to his high-D, which means only one thing: He can go higher. But I guess this review isn't about the hypotheticals, so just take my word for it that if you don't enjoy the music (for whatever reason, i.e., insanity), you will fucking love this guy's vocals.

Production-wise, this isn't shabby at all. The bass was just a little over-mixed, and I did detect a little recycling going on, but in general, a fine fucking job in this department, without a doubt.

All in all, a damn fine album. A must-have for any Power Metallers out there, and if you're diving into the metal scene for the first time, take this record as a perfect example of late Power Metal.

Fucking 97/100!