 
This band from France is, in some ways, like a more high-speed Kamelot. The vocals are the kind of dramatic yodelling that some times allwos it's over the top delivery to sacrfice the hooks in favor of vibrato and power, which might be why I do not give new musicc like this much of a chance and tend to stick to the classics who were not influenced by other metal bands but rock or prog bands so they jsut added the metal to the equation rather than trying to emmulaqte it. I guess Helloween is the first band that I noticed was trying to be like another metal band in this regard. The Iron Maiden influence was obvious, though now listening back, I can hear some Scorpions. With these, Queensryche and Iron Maiden are the big ones, but their gallop needs to be dialed up to fully capture the epic quality.
These guys are releasing this album themselves so there are some budget constraints in the production, though the layers of vocals were given some love as they still manage a very larger-than-life sound until it gets to things like guitar solos that are sometimes sitting back in the mix rather than stepping into the spotlight. 'Walls of Past" is the first song where it feels like the barrage gets chaotic until the layers of guitars settle in. Less is more when it comes to this sort of thing, and when they give the vocals room to not have to yodel over things, it works best. Maybe 10 bpms slower would have benefited them and made it have more purpose. It feels like they are all over the place here.
"Tell Me Why" has a similar energy as the previous song, but a little more purpose, and the vocals benefit from this. Though another problem is revealed in the chorus, as it sounds too bright and is not dark enough for me. The lyrics are not that great either. If you want a band that will dedicate a section of a song to a guitar solo, these guys are for you. There is a more Iron Maiden-like sound to "Rise Again," but it brings that Helloween feel to mind. Sure, this guy can hit high notes, but I would be more impressed by hearing some low ones as well; it's not range if that is all you do.
"As Darkness Falls" should certainly feel darker, but will it ?" Well marginally. The vocals are grandiose but not catchy like something Maiden would do that gets stuck in your head, though this is an improvement, and perhaps the best song so far. A beefier guitar tone would also benefit these guys, though I know they like this one for the shredding. 'The End of the Road" finds them slowing it down enough to gain more purpose. This makes it another one of the album's strongest songs, as they are approaching things with more wisdom as the slower build creates the dynamic Overall they did a good job of making the album they wanted to make on the budget they had, so for that I will give this album an 8 as they are formidible musicians. .
6.2
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