Finnish quintet BRYMIR are back with their third album, aptly entitled "Wings of Fire". Spanning three quarters of an hour, this album sees the band move even further away from their Pagan LAI LAI HEI origins, moving deeper into the realms of Melodic Death Metal. Following their somewhat bland sophomore album "Slayer of Gods", BRYMIR seem to have pulled out all the stops with "Wings of Fire".

Onn this new album, BRYMIR skilfully amalgamate crushing brutality with beautifully melodic and uplifting sections. Orchestrations, such as on "Vanquish the Night", gives the album a flair of melody that "Slayer of Gods" didn't quite manage to achieve. This not only weaves in finer and more elegant details into the tapestry of their sound, but also embellishes the songs and really makes each one of them stand out in some way or other. The finishing touch is the choir, which add to the epic feel of the album. This larger-than-life mood is set right from the opening of "Gloria in Regum", ebbing and flowing throughout the album, sometimes taking on darker twists such as in the cyclonic onslaught that is "Sphere of Halcyon", to the slightly more frantic "Hails from the Edge", or the slower and more melancholic "Lament of the Ravenous". This isn't always pulled of perfectly though, with "Starportal" for example seeming to have too many different sections thrown in, giving it a somewhat haphazard feel.

One other thing that did mar the effect of the album for me was the similarity in song structure. Each song follows the exact same formula as the ones that came before: Intro + build up + solo + conclusion -> Repeat. What does get varied in the song structure is the influences that get used in each song. For example, "Sphere of Halcyon" sees a more Blackened sound shine through, "Chasing the Skyline" has more Neofolk elements thrown in, whilst the eponymous "Wings of Fire" has more of a Power Metal feel to it (as the album artwork would also suggest). Thus, despite the lack of variation in song structure, there is still a multi-faceted aspect to the album thanks to the diversity of influences used. On the plus side, these different stylistic elements also help set BRYMIR apart from all the other up-and-coming Melodeath bands out there. The production of the album is also very well done, with none of the instruments drowning out the others, as is so often the case in this genre.

Overall, BRYMIR is a band all in their own league, and must put on an absolutely amazing live performance. More importantly, despite a few niggling bits on "Wings of Fire", the band seem to have finally found their own unique voice, delivering an inimitable and dynamic album that really sets the standards high, not only for themselves, but for the genre in general.