Forever Endeavour

Its been a while since the Norwegian band Highland Glory's debut (which I think was released in 2003, entitled From The Cradle To The Grave) and I was surprised to see a second album coming... but what a surprise. The debut album was very promising, filled with nice melodies and very cool songs, but there were a few things that needed improvement. So how did Highland Glory evolve during the two years separating the two offerings ? Indeed, the evolution is quite amazing I must say. The album starts with a nice quiet piano melody that is quickly replaced by powerful guitars and drums attack, amplifiyng the melody and wrapping it into the typical melodic power metal soud that we all know and like (that is power metal fans :) ). Then two high pitched , powerful screams come to break the ice. I have two words that came to mind immediatly : Lost Horizon ! Those screams reminded me Daniel's on Sworn in the Metal Wind (from LH first album). After a few seconds its clear that the most impressibve leap forward from the band are the vocals, the singer (Jan Thore Grefstad) made enormous progress and the range he presents in this album is unbelievable ! From a totally unknown he's now aquired the skills to become noticed as a powerful power metal singer ! He's now a powerful mix between Daniel Heiman and Bruce Dickinson. But he can go play in the range of Halford and Timo Kotipelto as well ! But let's not forget the rest of the band, they all play in unity and the sound of the band is powerful and melodic to the bones. The guitars are majestic, the keys are not overpresent but they add the right atmosphere to the music, while the drums are tight. The production is very good and also a great improvement over the debut album. Songs are quite different from one another, though some will remind you other bands, like Break The Silence (the second track) will smell Stratovarius from the first seconds of its listen. Funnily enough, once the Strato melody is gone and comes the verse, its Iron Maiden that comes to mind. The mix between these two style are blending perfectly and the song is a killer, my only regret is that the chorus is a bit too Stratovarius-borrowed :). Another resemblance that strikes immediatly is the melody that opens and accomnpanies the song Mindgame Maquerade. The melody (and guitar sound) will make you think of Gary Moore instantly, but the rest of the song is again quite different and fresh. But to hear this song made me want to listen to Gary Moore again and I've been stuck with Wild Frontier in my car player for weeks now. The vocals on this song are really excellent, powerful to the bones and with an attitude. The album contains two ballads (one containing wonderful female vocals), they're powerful and emotion driven, as ballads must be. The album has no weak track whatsoever and is a pleasure ride for all fan of power and melody. What a great surprise this Forever Endeavour is and I can't stress enough how good this album is.guitar melodies flying all over the place with majesty, strong powerful heavy riffs, powerful drums and unbelievable vocal performance ! If you like melodic power metal then you cannot miss this jewel album, especially if like me you like to feel old influences as well (Iron Maiden, Gary Moore, Judas Priest,...). Two thumbs up ! I can't wait to listen to what this talented band will offer next.