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Break Another Day

    
       
       
       
     
             
Winterborn are a power metal band from Finland formed in 2004, releasing three albums to date - 'Cold Reality' (2006), 'Farewell To Saints' (2008), and 'Break Another Day' (2024)...    
             
...featuring eleven songs across (three minutes short of) an hour of power! Returning after a fifteen year hiatus, the band are back to batter every listener, fan and follower with a brand of melodic power metal that incorporates a fairly sharp progressive edge - the album cruising into life with 'Another Sleepless Night'. And another sleepless night is what you'll have after listening to 'Another Sleepless Night', Winterborn delivering a hard rocking harder kicking anthem that'll see you living after midnight, rocking to the dawn! The sheer elegance and majesty of 'Another Sleepless Night' is incredible, 'Break Another Day' marching on with the faster paced 'Satellite', and the appearance of a traditional heavy metal gallop - Winterborn planting their feet firmly on the old school monitor to deliver an immensely infectious and highly head bang-able blend of power come heavy metal.    
             
A phenomenal and ear catching opening double salvo, the Finnish metallers have fully grabbed everyone's attention, turning heads and making listeners sit up and take notice of a band returning to the fore, Winterborn maintaining their "comeback" album's impressive start with the even faster paced 'On The Greatest Day' - the level of head bang ability shooting through the fucking roof! The intensity since the album began has been spot on, 'Break Another Day' oozing irresistibility in abundance, every listener, fan and follower hooked on the bands infectious brand of highly melodic power metal. And strolling into view, 'For The First Time Ever' has impending balladry written all over it - but the band has other ideas, building 'For The First Time Ever' into an elegant hymn-like swagger! Yes you could raise your lighters high in the air and sway from side to side, but for me 'For The First Time Ever' is just too weighty to be labelled as a ballad. The bands self titled song 'Winterborn', is a six and a half minute epic similar to the epics legendary metallers Iron Maiden are famous for (among many other things), Winterborn launching 'Winterborn' with a wonderfully crafted intro that could so easily slot onto any of 'Maiden's albums. The atmosphere the Finnish six piece create here is spine tingling, the hairs on the backs of everyone's necks standing taller than the Majakka tower!    
             
What an absolutely barnstorming first half to 'Break Another Day', the band powering on with the hustling, bustling 'Washed Away By Tide', featuring hints of 'Powerslave' era Iron Maiden - hints that are littered throughout 'Washed Away By Tide's entire four minute length! And for anyone who's never heard 'Maiden's 'Powerslave' album - and I can't believe there's too many - won't have a clue what I'm talking about, but for those that have, hopefully you can hear what I can! 'Cause if you can't, I think I'll have to go to the hearing doctor in England! 'Now Or Never' opens with the most progressive nature of any song heard so far, Winterborn melding melodic metal with the bands power metal roots to produce a genre border crossing song that strides tall and very proud with shoulders back and head held high. The variation seen, or rather heard up to this point has been very wide, 'Break Another Day' not limiting itself to any one particular style of metal, fans and followers of numerous styles gravitating towards the Finnish band - a band that strides on with the mellowest song heard so far 'Into The Shades Of Gray'. Featuring a kinda soft rocking AOR come hymn-like power ballad aura, 'Into The Shades Of Gray' definitely sits at the lighter end of the heavy metal genre, dangling its feet over the boundary wall into hard rock territory. As I've already mentioned, the variation on offer is incredible, metallers who didn't quite fancy the bands first two albums for whatever reason, should really give the band another listen - for 'Break Another Day' excels all over the metal spectrum.    
             
'Moon From The Sky' returns the hustle and bustle nature heard earlier (on 'Washed Away By Tide'), but with an increased melodious intent and all out pace across the chorus break - not to mention the phenomenal sing along ability of said chorus! Everyone from here to Finland and around the entire planet are gonna sing along to 'Moon From The Sky' - it's an in concert sing along moment in the making for sure! Fingers crossed the band are gonna play it live! Please! And with a stunning turn of speed, 'Silver Dreams' rockets off at full throttle, slamming listeners outta the way with immense force - a force that also rocks the head of every single metalhead back and forth at an extremely high rate of knots! I tell ya readers, this is one song to test the flexibility of your neck muscles! And bringing the album to a soaring symphonic metal edged finish, Winterborn are at their most majestically epic, the first two minutes of 'Through Different Eyes' an absolute peach of cinematic power metal pomp - the band progressing to press the pedal to the metal to roar on at a traditional heavy metal pace, planting their feet firmly on the monitor one last time to assume the iconic "metal" pose! What a grandstand finish to 'Break Another Day'!    
             
Overall, a barnstorming barrage of power come traditional heavy metal with immense melodious intent and a sky high infectious level.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Metal-Roos    
             
             
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