Not to be confused with A DISTANT SUN, a Doom Metal band out of Ireland, this is the second full-length album from the Moscow, Russia trio. I haven't had the chance to review a lot of bands from Russia and to be perfectly honest, I am not aware of most of bands the bands out there from the old country. I know ARKONA but it's a pleasure to be able to listen to other albums from other genres from this wonderful country. I have a number of friends talking about the fact that the metal scene out there in Russia has been going through a lot of changes and they are more and more bands popping out and there are some diamonds in the rough.

The cover art is fantastic as well, I am a sucker for great cover art and this reminded me of some awesome video game cover in the last decade or so. It has some elements of science fiction and you gotta love that demon knight in the background with the world in his grasps. It's the same demon knight that we see on the cover of their previous album. I did not know what to expect when I started listening to this album. I read that they were a Power Metal trio so I was pretty pumped to say the least because there have been so many newer bands in the genre that are making a nice impact in a genre that had been really stale for a long time. Traditional Power Metal had it's heyday in the middle of nineties until the middle of the 2000's pretty much. Well let's just say this is my own personal opinion but I think it reached it's peak back then. Look, everyone has their own opinion so no one is at fault!

DISTANT SUN have incorporated the Thrash Metal elements of bands like MEGADETH with some Power Metal elements from bands like BLIND GUARDIAN or ICED EARTH. The singer has some pretty gruff vocals that reminded me a lot of John Greely from ICED EARTH, on the album ''Night of the Stormrider''. I mean it was really the first singer that came to mind when I heard the first notes off of this release. I am really pleased that this is not straight a forward Power Metal and the fact that they added some early Thrash Metal intensity on the album just adds to my general happiness while listening to this album!

I always have to admit that one of my pet peeves in music is not being able to hear the lyrics of a song because of a strong accent. As I grow older, it hasn't been a problem and I don't that much anymore. I have to take the time to think that these bands try their damnedest and that the English language is usually not their first language, not even the secondary language. I didn't mind this time that most of the time I couldn't really discern the words out of the singer's mouth. The guy does sing his heart out and you can feel the passion resonating in the songs throughout this album. Even if his mastery of the English language isn't great, it does not limit the force and raw energy of his voice.

Arguably closer to the aggressive edge of thrash than any power metal, ''Into the Nebula'' is fast and rhythmic and doesn't let out. Musically it has that awesome double bass drumming and a whole lot of bass. Compared to a lot of bands in the genre, it was quite a departure to be able to really admire the bass work of a band. You don't usually have the chance to get a real earful of this wonderful instrument and it's almost always in the background of the guitars it-selves. The singer does lack the range that most Power Metal singers have it does not deter from his immense talent. I mean the guy has a lot of strength in his voice and it's really a pleasure to hear him but sometimes I would have loved to have some real high notes. I mean this is more of a Thrash Metal album with Power Metal elements than anything else so why I am complaining?!?!

Granted there are some moments where it does drag out a bit, but this album is a very strong release nonetheless. In addition to being my first experience of listening to DISTANT SUN, this album does take a few listens before a record settles into the memory I am really happy that the lyrical themes drift towards science fiction and not the traditional wizards, dragons, dwarves and medieval imagery! It makes them stand out and that was such a pleasant surprise for me. If you love early ICED EARTH, you will love this band as much as I did.