Outside of the theme that surrounds the album, which wasn't that hard to recognize, with hopes that I am not that farfetched in my thoughts about it, that rallies the new hope for mankind to rise again after succumbing to its own destruction, it is also a new beginning for the Hungarian / British AVENFORD. Following their great debut album "Mortal Price", half of the band left, leaving the duo Hungarian founders to check out new possibilities. Gladly, in a country where there are supposedly countless of options for Melodic Metal musicians, AVENFORD was complete once again and working on new material, that is a new beginning for you. A little time afterwards, crossing towards 2017, and there is AVENFORD at it with their sophomore release "New Beginning", and signed to the German label Pride & Joy Music.

Taking a much fiercer stature within Power Metal's wide spectrum, the somewhat change of vibe into a heavier approach, yet not less melodic or energetic in comparison to the debut, was right there on the money for AVENFORD, enabling them to entice the listening experience, creating an own patch of gold. By endorsing a few out of the box elements to their gain, while not keeping to the speedy formatting of the Euro style, AVENFORD were able to capture my attention from start to end, sowing their fixating songwriting into the very deeps of my mind, leaving the knots tight. Furthermore, above and beyond the melodic capabilities of their guitarists, Arpie Gamson, for me the Hungarian version of a younger Zakk Stevens, really had it all out on this album. Capturing with soaring vocals and utmost passion, the vocalic delivery was set as the main course, truly inspiring.

Right from the get go, AVENFORD bred their fire into massively rising flames. Their cooperation with ex-FIREWIND's iconic vocalist, Apollo Papathanasio, on the opener "Dead Or Alive", left me no doubt that I am about to set out for a great adventure. This particular driving song, other than its solo section that is not that close to my point, could have been a FIREWIND tune easily and Papathanasio rich vocal act, entwined with Gamson's, was no less than a pleasure fest. The self-titled track effort, which came out as the album's finest moment of true Melodic Metal glory, was simply an anthemic catcher. To be honest, this is song is probably one of the exceptional moments of Melodic Metal that I heard till now. "Mask", other than being a superb track, also, features ALESTORM's guitarist Mate Bodor, a fact that only helped to perceive how well AVENFORD progressed also by picking the right guests for such important roles. Add in "Back In Time" and "Assassin" to the mix and you will keep up the treat on and on, with the latter being a strong contender to the opening melodic salvo.

Fans of HELLOWEEN, PAGAN'S MIND, IRON MAIDEN, FIREWIND gather around under the flag of this band, currently residing in the UK. I had an inner feeling that this release would take me down that road where I just sit down, closing my eyes and getting smeared by the profound tunes. Lastly, I am still trying to find out who applied the keyboards for this release... Awesome work.