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Eternal Flame

    
(single)    
       
       
     
             
Ignea Aeterna are a power metal band based in the UK, comprising members from both the UK and El Salvador. Formed in 2023, the band are vocalist and guitarist Ed Franco (Analogy Of Life), guitarist Oscar Franco, keyboard player Jeremy Ross Lawler (Winter's Edge), bass player Jack Stanley (Vulpecula), and drummer Fabio Alessandrini (Annihilator, Enemy Eyes, Reptalien).    
             
The band are intent on "bringing back the classic power metal sound that has slowly become forgotten about over time", and on the evidence of the bands debut single, methinks they have done just that!    
             
Released in 2023, 'Eternal Flame' is an Ignea Aeterna original, and not a cover of American pop rockers The Bangles classic of the same name (reaching number one in both the UK and USA singles charts in 1989). Crikey! Am I really that old! In 1989 I was nineteen, and listening to bands such as Alice Cooper ('Trash'), Annihilator ('Alice In Hell'), Rage ('Secrets In A Weird World'), Running Wild ('Death Or Glory'), Skid Row ('Skid Row'), Sodom ('Agent Orange'), Testament ('Practice What You Preach') and W.A.S.P. ('The Headless Children'), along with (still) playing Helloween's 'Keeper Of The Seven Keys' parts 1 and 2 released in '87 and '88 respectively.    
             
Helloween pretty much set the benchmark for power metal with those two seminal albums, a mark many bands have aimed for, for years! And now it's the turn of international five-piece Ignea Aeterna to rise up and challenge the German's legendary masterpiece! And what a gutsy first effort the band have made! Power metal has long been described as faster, lighter and more uplifting than traditional heavy metal, featuring fantasy based lyrical themes, anthemic choruses, virtuoso guitars and keyboard instrumentation. Ignea Aeterna tick all of these boxes.    
             
'Eternal Flame' is fast, full of pace and power with an incredible melodious intent. It is fair to say that the band have made an emphatic entrance into the world of metal, turning heads within seconds of 'Eternal Flame' exploding into life. The band are well and truly on my radar, and definitely should be on yours too - for 'Eternal Flame' has whetted my already wet appetite for power metal. Or is that a bit o' dribble I can feel! Either way, I'll be waiting with bated breath for the bands next release.    
             
Overall, a fast paced and infectious slice of pulsating power metal, Ignea Aeterna have impressed massively with their debut single.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Ignea Aeterna    
             
             
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