Neverland

I picked this one up pretty much on a whim from Sentinel Steel – it was cheap and was said to sound like Blind Guardian’s “Somewhere Far Beyond”. If it came anywhere close to that landmark album then I would have been satisfied. I expected some decent folk/speed metal, nothing special but enjoyable nonetheless. With such low expectations I sat down for a casual listen. Fifty minutes later I was pretty much shocked by what I’d heard – excellent power metal that was indeed influenced by Blind Guardian but was also unique enough to stand out.

A little research shows that this is actually a re-recording of their 1997 effort “Twilight Legend” plus a couple of extra songs (the last is a ripping cover of Helloween’s “Twilight of the Gods”). Going back to that record, it was indeed a good idea to re-record these songs, as the production on “Twilight Legend” was simply terrible. Also, vocalist Sergey Sergeev is a lot better than the guy who sang on the initial release – he has a better range and his accent is much less noticeable. Trust me when I say that, if you have “Neverland” you’re certainly not missing anything by not having “Twilight Legend”.

Many of these songs are actually more mid-paced than most traditional power metal tunes. The double bass drums are used sparingly and there are plenty of slower sections, some featuring nice acoustic interludes. Sergeev mostly uses a mid-range epic singing style that’s a little different from many power metal singers. He doesn’t venture into the upper registers too often, though when he does it’s a mixed bag – sometimes he sounds fine, other times he strains. In general he gives a fine performance, as do all members of the group. I think the strongest songs are actually packed in the beginning right in a row. The first three (discounting the acoustic intro) are probably the best on the album, especially “The Last Hope”, which is about as epic as a power metal song that’s less than six minutes long can be.

This is basically the first Shadow Host album really worth getting. Their sophomore effort, titled “Downfall”, was okay but also had an absolutely terrible production with a drum sound that was simply dreadful. The band seems to be floating in limbo now, as this album was released three years ago. They do have a newer demo that is available in full on their website. Unfortunately, if it is representational of what their next album will sound like then this may end up still being the only album worth getting, as the new songs just seem to lack the special something that this album possesses in spades. We’ll give them a free pass, however – it is, after all, just a demo. In the meantime, fans of Blind Guardian and other folk/speed/power acts would be well advised to check this album out. Just don’t expect it to sound exactly like BG because, well, no one sounds exactly like BG.