Conceived in North Carolina way back in the happier days of 2007, TEMPTATIONS WINGS Are something of a curiosity. Their sound is a big mashup of different genres, and yet still the band seems a cohesive unit with all players working in harmony, Micah Nix's vocals come over at first as being very Stoner Rock influenced, but against a backdrop of classic Heavy Metal invoking the sound of the NWOBHM greats, I'm sure I don't need to name any names. There are also deep streaks of grunge, doom and even psychedelia swirling around this eclectic release.

The opening salvo of "Warlords" and "Silent Assassin" set the scene with the former boasting an archetypal Metal gallop and the latter being a classic chugger with a hint of Southern groove. The guitar sound is enormous, a deep chunky bottom end for the powerful riffs, and smooth twin harmonies lead the way for the solos.

"Altar of Sabbath" needs no explanation, it is exactly what it seems it's probably going to be, a heartfelt and doom drenched tribute to the sounds of Ozzy & co. The tribute is not just in the music either, make sure to sit down and read the lyrics to this track which cleverly weave together a narrative literally constructed from the names of classic SABBATH tracks. No doubt, like me, you will have great fun with this song trying to work out all the references, of which there are a litany. This is not the only point at which the band's influences are shamelessly put front and centre as fourth track "Sea of Woe" is a detuned pool of sludge that could be ripped straight from the pages of ALICE IN CHAIN'S "Dirt," effectively capturing some of the beefy guitar sounds and instantly recognisable vocal harmonies that defined their sound. Phew, are we only half-way through this album? They've packed so much interest in already.

They flip the script again with the perfectly judged "Cosmos," which provides an ominous yet relatively relaxing instrumental respite from the relentless heaviness, perhaps to prepare you for the crushing drama yet to come in "Shadow of the Moon". The opening riff which recurs throughout is almost thrashy, but this settles down into something darker and more circumspect in the choruses, again there is definite hints of AIC in this, especially in vocal harmonies, the crushing guitar tone and monstrously heavy riff.

For most bands an emphatic eight-minute, ground-shaking, Celtic-flavoured fantasy epic like "Children of the Mountain" would be the perfect coda to a work like this, but instead they choose to call time with a great little mandolin Folk ditty, which seems almost celebratory in tone compared to the rest of the LP. The album leaves you feeling as though you have been on an adventure, it does a good job of drawing together some disparate influences and creating quite an original sound, the production is lush and the performances top drawer. Highly recommended.