CRYSTAL VIPER has been quite active in their seven years of existence and only three of actual recording, having put out eight releases that range in content from full length, compilation, EP, a single and a MCD. That is quite impressive in such a short time. This isn't the kind of music that is going to land them in arenas or stadiums, but I do see a good dose of full clubs and small theaters in store for them. They are far too underground to sell gold albums, but that is OK, not all bands have to be AC/DC or JUDAS PRIEST. They are a female fronted band. Marta Gabriel is their singer. Not only is she the singer, she actually formed the band by herself. I have never heard of this before. Of course I have heard of female fronted bands, but all of those bands are already formed before they audition the potential female lead singers. Just imagine auditioning for a woman for a spot in a Heavy Metal band. Not only that, but a "True Metal" band at that! How's that for equality? I love it!

Nothing's better than a woman that likes to head bang and also get up on stage and do more than pose. She is the leader. What are the results you might ask? The results are actually quite good. According to the band's bio sheet the song topics are about Polish sagas of the Middle Ages. The song topics are one major reason I love true/Power Metal. You don't have to listen to satanic crap or "Jesus this and Jesus that" and that's just fine with me. I stopped listening to that stuff ages ago. I found my escape from that in this genre and will forever be grateful. Many of the songs start with solos instead of power chord riffs; similar to how FALCONER starts so many of their songs.

The songs range in tempos from mid paced to slow and fast. Everything is covered here to make this their most diverse release ever. CRYSTAL VIPER is from Poland, a country known mainly for their extreme Metal bands in Thrash, Death and Black Metal (the most famous of these bands being VADER and BEHEMOTH). CRYSTAL VIPER is nothing like those bands, instead they are more like the traditional Metal bands of the 80's. I do enjoy the double guitar harmonies that remind me of JUDAS PRIEST. The sound is retro but by no means is it poor. The production is very good. If I had to guess I would guess it was done in analog. The songs are filled with melodious soloing and passionate vocals accompanied by solid drumming and bass lines that go along with the song. You don't hear bass notes sticking out of place like you do on the IRON MAIDEN albums. There is no overplaying of the bass here. I have heard them live and the mix is as good there as it is here on a studio album.

There is even a cover song from ACCEPT. The song is "TV War". How does a female vocalist handle Udo material? As good as she can, that's how! Actually, she does a great job. This song has some slamming double bass thumping going on. There is no doubt these guys can play. They don't sing about sex and drugs. I hope these "true Metal" bands keep coming. It's a welcome break from the obnoxious "Mall Metal" we have here in the States. I would have to say "Blood Of The Heroes" is my favorite song. This is a solid release for those that like bands like MANOWAR, SACRED STEEL, RUNNING WILD, VIRGIN STEELE and IRON MAIDEN. I do intend to purchase this when it comes out for wide release. Promo copies are great, but nothing's better than a nice fresh jewel case or digipack to give you that sense of "ownership" that illegal downloading will never give you. Yes, there is pride in ownership. You hear that kiddies? I promise you that actually buying an album instead of downloading it won't kill you.