REFLECTION is an Epic Heavy Metal band from Athens, Greece. They have been at it for over three decades and ''The Battles I Have Won'' is their first album is over 8 years!! This is the first album of the group to feature Kostas Tokas as the lead singer, known for his work with the underrated THE SILENT RAGE, replacing the departing Chris Kappas.

This is an album that is quite hard to classify, a hodge-podge of other bands come to mind but it's so difficult to pinpoint one influence in particular. I can hear some elements of MANOWAR, CRIMSON GLORY, CANDLEMASS, TURISAS, early HELLOWEEN and a bit of SABATON. You have a whole lot of Power Metal, Battle Metal and traditional elements from NWOBHM mixed into one huge melting pot. I enjoy a band that can take something from any style and make it their own and when you listen to the first two singles ''Sirens' Song'' and the titular track ''The Battles I Have Won'', you get the feeling you are in for a treat and no song remains the same, homogeny is not in their dictionary that's for certain.

According to many the addition of Kostas Tokas has been a contributing factor to the renaissance of these Greek pioneers. I saw some posts saying that the departing Chris Kappas didn't have that vocal presence the band needed with their epic sound and Kostas brings it to another level. Look, think Klaus Meine from THE SCORPIONS turned to 11 with an impressive range. You get enthralled when you hear him sing, especially on the title track, he has something special and with a bombastic musical section, it's a great match. You need that powerhouse when you bring an Epic Heavy Metal genre to life and this is the case.

Even though they carry themselves on the Epic Metal genre, no song is uber long. They skip the intros and it's a straightforward attack on the senses. No drawn out instrumental parts just something straight to the point, epic choruses no less but songs that don't top 5:30 in length. The last song does seem like a long outro at times and it might be the weakest link of their new opus but nothing negative about the rest of the album, they seemed to have a created a hit factory with the remaining songs.

The production could have been better, at times it feels muffled between the vocals and the rest of the band but it's a small detail that doesn't hurt the overall value of the album as a whole. An album that feels refreshing and brings you to every corner of the Metal spectrum, yet feeling like something special even at the first listening.