So, what do we have here, another progressive Metal band from Finland? Yes, it is. This is ANTHRIEL's debut album. For a debut, it is a solid effort. This is typical progressive Metal. It never gets too fast and is sprinkled with pianos and synthesizers. The guitar work is top notch. I find the vocals fine except for the occasional sour note when Simo Silvan holds a note for too long. Whenever he does that, it always seems to grate a little, to me that is. According to the bio sheet, this album is at least partially based on the R. A. Salvatore novels "Forgotten Realms: The Dark Elf Trilogy"; I read the novels that led up to that, so I know all the characters. I guess I stopped reading at the wrong time, because only one song sounds familiar to me (the final song). There are so many books to read, if a series gets too long and doesn't hold my interest I move on to something else, because there is always something else.

One thing I noticed in particular is the album cover. It is very much in the vein of a Power Metal album cover. All the necessary parts are there. When you see the cover, you will see what I mean. Don't be fooled, this is not Power Metal in any way shape or form. The songs are melodious and memorable, but not fast enough to be Power Metal. I normally don't like progressive music too much, but this is diverse enough to carry my interest. This has been a year of surprising debut albums. I must add this to the list. The final song is an epic both in scope and in length and has a little bit of the entire genre sprinkled in it. I guess when a song is close to fourteen minutes long, you have an ample amount of time to fit the whole of the genre in there. If I have to sit through a song that long, it had better be good and rest assured that it is indeed. The lyrical themes do seem to be based in book type form as the bio sheet indicates.

In this final song I finally remember a song that fits the books I read. It reminds me of the dark elf, Drizzt Do'Urden, from the already mentioned books series. Therefore, it is the song I can most identify with.

Overall, if you like progressive Metal, I can find no reason for you not to like this release. This really is a high quality album. It gets better every time I listen to it. I recommend "The Pathway" to fans of the genre.