Quite a long time ago, I wrote how lucky I am writing to this webzine, since it gives me the opportunity to listen to new bands and makes me searching to find anything they released in the past or - if it's a new band like DARKEST ERA - makes me want to be anxious to listen to their next album.

Those lads from Northern Irland gathered in 2005 under the name NEMESIS, combining NWOBHM with folk music from their homeland. They managed to record a demo in 2006 just before they changed their name to the one they have now just a few months later, and under that, they are releasing their first mini-CD The Journey Through Damnation.

Staying loyal to their ideas, this mini-CD is a mixture of NWOBHM and epic/folk, but with some touches of Black Metal (only as far as the music concerns, not the vocals) making it darker. The band has made a really good work in every aspect. Here the voice is crystal clear, the riffs are so good that other bands would pay to have them in their debut album and the production is the one that a band that sounds like they do should have. As themselves are saying in their bio, the epic melodies will bring in mind the 'Viking era' BATHORY and PROMORDIAL. But the good thing about those guys is that they don't try to copy them; they just filter their influences.

Memorable riffs, great epic melodies, the spirit of NWOBHM. What else would you ask for? If you find this mini-CD anywhere, just grab it! As for me, I am already looking forward to their next release. I would like to put a bigger grade, but if I do, what will I put in their next album?