I wasn't very impressed with SERIOUS BLACK'S first album and, as such, never bothered to check out their second full length so when I received this to review, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  I am happy to say that whatever their first release was missing, this one seems to have it. The album is a concept, telling the interesting fantasy story of a man named Mr. Nightmist, who is traveling in search of the mysterious of the universe and, ultimately, to lift a magical curse.  It is perhaps a big hokey to those not into this style of metal but I find it very rewarding because the band makes everything very convincing.  My biggest gripe with a lot of concept albums is they are often littered with filler just for the sake of telling a story.  "Magic," thankfully avoids this as, with the exception of the intro, each song is full realized in its own right.  Although it's obviously good to listen to such an album straight thru, you can actually listen to any track and enjoy yourself.

The enjoyment comes in no small part in the form of vocalist URBAN BREED's soaring tenor.  His voice is perfect for telling this story as he knows exactly how to sing each line without putting too much drama in it due to his energetic style.  The second track, "Binary Magic," shows off his well-balanced, classic power metal vocals that are soaring but not over the top.  The next track, "Burn! Witches Burn!" finds him putting an edge to his vocals, comparable to some of songs by NOCTURNAL RITES.

Musically, the band is power metal with some progressive tendencies but there isn't anything too technical here.  At their heart, the guitar duo of Sebastian and Katsionis are shredders, providing mostly uptempo riffs with a bit of melody thrown in. "Binary Magic" has some speeding riffs that throw in some quick melodic notes to accent the music around the very catchy chorus. "I Can do Magic," has some very quick and heavy riffing much like LABYRINTH and it works very well with the song; the fast riffs also feed off the more melodic guitar leads while complimenting Holzwarth's tight drumming and the equally speedy bass of Lochert. Unfortunately, catchy isn't everything; there isn't anything on the record that is super compelling to me and there aren't any standout tracks that just have me pushing that repeat button over and over.  At 14 tracks in length, it's a bit long winded and about halfway through everything does run together. This is a solid power metal and concept album that manages to tell a story without letting that get in the way of writing catchy, well played music with plenty of hooks.