Awakening the World

Power metal...when was the last time you heard a band performing power metal that didn't sound completely derived from something else? Meet Lost Horizon...

To put it bluntly, this is an original band making a damn bold statement in a genre that is tough to be unique in. Probably the biggest thing you'll notice, is the sheer intensity that a band like this brings. Everyone in this band is an underrated talent that has come together to form what should have been a metal juggernaut (until Daniel's ill-concieved decision to leave the band). The drummer is metronome tight, and he doesn't play a single fill on this disc that appears anywhere else on the disc. And those fills...are top-notch. This drummer should be held in high regard right next to the Mike Terranas and Asgeir Mickelsens of the world. Speaking of untapped talents, how about that guitarist?!? His riffs give you no opportunity whatsoever for your attention to wane, and his solos are little mini-compositions in the middle of the tunes. Now throw in a singer with one of the best sets of pipes - not to mention an uncanny knack for emotion and versatility - and you truly have something here. Add icing to this layer cake in the form of an amazingly top-notch and never-overbearing production, and this album should be a classic!!!

To conclude, this album is damn amazing! the only critique that I can give is that the interludes need to be ditched and we need to see 10-12 songs per CD...not 7 or 8 surrounded by filler crap disguised by their track numbers.

Oh, and the Highlander lyrical references speak to the nerd in me...