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Twilight II

    
       
       
       
     
             
Shadows Of Steel are a power metal band from Italy formed in 1996 releasing to date three E.P.'s - 'Twilight' (1998), 'Heroes' (2000), and 'Twilight II' (2022), and four albums - 'Shadows Of Steel' (1997), 'Second Floor' (2002), 'Crown Of Steel' (2013), and 'Twilight II' (2024).    
             
And yes readers, you read that right, the band have two releases with the same title, 2024's album 'Twilight II' containing everything 2022's E.P. (of the same name) had to offer, along with three more new songs and another cover - more on those later! Shadows Of Steel was founded by vocalist Wild Steel (ex Projecto) and keyboardist Andrew McPauls (ex Labyrinth), the current line-up completed by guitarists Ice Reaven and Andrew Spane (No Man Eyes), drummer Matt Peruzzi (Labyrinth, Vision Divine), and bassist Fabio Zunino (ex Projecto) - the bands new album featuring a total of twelve songs across a one hour run time! And all of the bands new songs are up first, 'Call Of Shadows' surging outta the blocks at blistering speed, the band at full tilt to send every head banger wild with excitement! Excitement at the prospect of head banging hard right from the off - and not just a gentle nod either, a fucking frantic muscle ripping, neck breaking back and forth motion faster than an ecstatically happy dogs wagging tail!    
             
A sensational opening salvo to grab the attentions of every listener everywhere, 'Twilight II' roars on with the more bombastic but nonetheless fast paced 'Broken Mirror', Shadows Of Steel standing firm and proud in power metal territory for the albums first two songs - two songs that have oozed a sky high energy level! And dropping a gear, 'Shine' is a much more melodic power metal swagger, the band shelving phenomenal pace in favour of a mid tempo march, Shadows Of Steel beginning to roam around metal territory to offer variation to listeners, an air of elegance descending upon the album as 'Power Of Dreams' glides in only to resume the thundering pace as the minute mark passes by! The pace here is electrifying, 'Power Of Dreams' outstripping the (albums) first two songs to vigorously rock the heads of everyone faster than ever before.    
             
An air of balladry drifts across the airways as 'Crystal' strolls in to invite listeners to raise lighters high in the air and sway from side to side, Shadows Of Steel delivering the obligatory ballad that seems to appear on every power metal album ever released! And regular readers will already know my opinion here - ballads are for rock albums and not metal ones! I know it may be a controversial opinion, but it's only an opinion, I'm not trying to change the world here! And returning blistering speed to the fore, 'Search For The Truth' is classic sounding European power metal very much in the vein of the greats of the past (and to be honest the present too), greats such as Helloween, Gamma Ray and Primal Fear. 'Symphony' melds balladry with a hymn-like swagger, the band taking elegance and majesty to a whole new level, the tension fuelled anticipative nature across the song's first minute and a half almost unbearable! And then BOOM - the acceleration is sudden and overwhelming, 'Symphony' faster than the speed of light as the band roar loud and proud!    
             
And now for the cover songs - in just a moment, 'cause when a band covers a song, there's always a slight worry they may ruin it, or even destroy it! And that worry deepens when it's one of the songs that got you into heavy metal in the first place - a song from over forty years ago by the very first metal band you ever listened to! And that's the case right here, for Shadows Of Steel cover one of my all time favourite songs by one of my all time favourite bands - Angel Witch and their self titled song 'Angel Witch' taken from the bands 1980 self titled debut album. And to be honest, I needn't have worried, Shadows Of Steel's version is good, very good - the pace and feel of the original retained to perfection. Next up is 'The Beauty And The Beast' by Stormwitch, taken from the bands 1987 album of the same name - and again Shadows Of Steel do a very good job here, keeping to the pace of the original, and beefing it up a little bit too! So that's two for two, let's see how the band fare with the other three.    
             
'Dark Nights' by Swedish metallers Heavy Load, taken from the bands 1981 E.P. 'Metal Conquest' is an anthemic mid tempo foot stomp - Shadows Of Steel very much in foot stomping mode here too, maybe not as bombastic as the original, only because Shadows Of Steel are power metallers and not traditional metallers. But that said, if you didn't know it was a cover, you'd swear it was a Shadows Of Steel original as the whole feel and vibe fits in with the bands root power metal sound. Next up is 'Shadow Thief' by Jag Panzer, taken from the bands 1997 album 'The Fourth Judgement' - and this is where Shadows Of Steel come into their own, for 'Shadow Thief' is a fast paced, up tempo and energetic song that fits perfectly the bands soundscape! And to the fifth and final cover, 'Heavy Demons' by Death SS, taken from the bands 1991 album of the same name - and this one here is probably the best of the bunch, Shadows Of Steel keeping very close to the original, even the bombastic thunder is spot on.    
             
Overall, a varied album of power metal featuring speed, thunder, foot stomps and an array of very good cover songs.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Metal Gods TV    
             
             
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