Power metal is certainly the 'in thing' in metal circles at the moment with magazines like 'Terrorizer' devoting whole issues to the genre and now we have this debut offering from a young Swedish band. I am happy to report that after a few spins this really is a rather decent album and one that fans of fast paced melodic/power metal will like.

It reminded me very much of Power Quest and that band's debut album and even in parts Dragonforce, mainly the speed of the guitar solos from Joakim Wiklund. 'Haunted Hill' with its Manowar style choir midway through and 'Merlin' are definate highpoints. The only downside is the sheer speed of the whole album as it would have been nice to have a mid-tempo number or even a ballad thrown into the overall mix.

Nightscape are certainly a band worth keeping an eye on, especially if you enjoy fast paced power metal and it will be interesting to see how their second album turns out.

***½

Review by Jason Ritchie

***** Out of this world | **** Pretty damn fine |
*** OK, approach with caution unless you are a fan |
** Instant bargain bin fodder | * Ugly. Just ugly