Romania and Sweden have long been lands wrap in legend, of stories of the supernatural, and native band Crossing Eternity has not let the reputation of spinning great tales fade. From the title track the stories the lyrics paint are mesmerizing and entertaining, and I generally view lyrics as another form of rhythm in a song am not so interested in their content unless they are well thought out. When "Ghost of a Storm" started, I was hooked. Beautiful lyrically, great guitars, drumming on point, and even though the music constantly and subtly changed through the song it stuck to the basic theme.

"High Above the Crown" had a classic metal opening which morphed into a complex main body with tempo, and rhythm changes a many, but never really losing the point. Well done and hard to pull off, the album was filled with change but never leaving me confused about the direction of the song. "Kingdome Come" made me felt like I was at a recognizance festival enjoying a bard spinning a tale and the chorus actually had me singing along. One of the few things I found less than great was Johann Hentz bass in the mix. On a song like "Embrace Your Voices" a bit more mid would change it from heavy to HEAVY. With that said, Manu Savu's guitar sound is as near to perfect as anyone could hope for. "Journey to the End of Dreams" was a great showcase of Uffe Tillman's almost manic drumming. Change-ups, cut time, double bass drum, all metronome perfect.

Even when the song starts as a basic 4/4 metal chug fest, it never stayed that way for long, and sometimes a change actually catches you by surprise, such as the chorus and solo did in "Winter Poem", well done boys! "Dreams Fall" is another example of how experienced this group of musicians are. Even though it is keyboard heavy, they never are up front and center distracting from all else. Instead they just add to the huge nature of the sound this band generates. "War of the Gods" sums up this album and band perfectly. One of the longest songs on the CD, it kept me interested till the end, like the whole collection. I know I saved this till the end, but I can't say enough about Berti Barbera's vocals. His range, ability to make it sound like he is singing a story, and most noticeable, there is a haunting quality that I've only heard once before, and Berti has a much more controlled aspect to it.

A power metal band with their first album under their belt now, I think they could easily make that step to Prog (I'm a fan, both of Prog and Crossing Eternity) but whatever they do next, I'm looking forward to it!