Hailing from Spain's east coast, CAIN'S DYNASTY formed in 2006, under the vision of band leader Ruben Picazo. They have toured successfully through their homeland, Europe and Japan, and pride themselves on having a varied and diverse sound that's rooted in vampire themes. This was definitely going to be an interesting one, and I was intrigued to hear more. Stylistically, this one is very difficult to categorise. There's definitely a power and speed metal component. Especially with the choppy basslines hammering away at root notes, locking in with the drums in elegant harmony. The vocals of Ruben certainly deserve some praise. His vocal range is mostly in that lower almost operatic baritone, which is fairly rare in the metal genre. However, he has a growl that can only be described as demonic, one which would make any self-respecting death metal vocalist sit up and pay attention! I saw glimpses of him reaching some insane highs too earlier in the album. Demonstrating some fantastic range.

The opening track "The Rising - Renegades" gives sets a cinematic feel to the album right from the start. The subtle use of synths throughout the album gives the song that classic symphonic metal edge. No room for slow ballads, as the only gear the band know is top gear, and high octane. Which is great; you might as well stick to what you know and what you know best. As I've mentioned, the band do have many different elements in their sound. Which is admirable in a way. However, I think one of their biggest strengths is also their biggest weakness. It can seem like they're throwing ideas in for the sake of it, and it feels unnatural at times. Sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, but sometimes too many cooks spoil the broth. It would be better to let some of these melodies draw out naturally and to have a slower progression, rather than the frantic throw in as many ideas as possible compositional approach.

Production wise, there's a lot to admire, with the album having several layers and density to it. All instruments seem to be mixed right, with nothing overpowering the other. However, I do thing the guitars can sound a bit muddy at times, and not as sharp nor bright as other guitars in the genre. Overall, I think the band and the album are certainly offering something different to the power metal genre. They're clearly successful and good at what they do as well. With some sharper production and compositional work, they could be much larger than they already are.