In many situations, we are stuck in a corner where we are dealing with Metal scenes that have solid roots in Metal musical styles. And we ask ourselves; what is a trend, and what is a consolidated style?

Speaking frankly: to Hell with these conceptions!

In terms of Metal, it's almost impossible to point out what is a trend and what will last forever, so it's truly ridiculous, on the part of fans and musicians, to have such kinds of thoughts. It does not make any sense. Melodic or extreme Metal styles have their own ways of being and their importance to the entire style, even if you can't see it.

So, with this idea clear in our minds, we can speak about "Heaven's Gate", the new album from the Swedish quintet ETERNAL (OF SWEDEN).

Well, their style is that of well-known Power Metal played with the strength and weight of traditional Heavy Metal; in a way that will bring to our minds the clear idea of the influence from bands like JUDAS PRIEST and HELLOWEEN. Until this point, there's nothing new at all, we already heard this type of Metal many times before. But their musical work is done with personality, not focusing their efforts on playing as fast as light, or in a boring technical way. No, their work sounds melodic and heavy in a way that can embrace us and take us by our ears.

The name of the producer is a sign of perfect sound quality: Peter Tägtgren (yes, the guitarist/vocalist of HYPOCRISY ), who used to work with bands from different Metal styles. And Jonas Kjellgren is the one who mastered the album, so the quality is really very good, with all instruments sounding clear and heavy, with good tones. And Mattias Norén created some fine artwork for the album's cover.

Of course "Heaven's Gate" is a good album, having good vocals (with clear Rob Halford influences), fine guitar riffs, good keyboards and a heavy rhythm section. And with the guest appearance of Mikaela Henriksson on female vocals their musical work gains a touch of elegance.

The beautiful melodic power can be heard on "Ruins" (with very good work on bass and drums) and on "Heaven's Gate" (this one with a more technical touch due the rhythmic changes, but with excellent vocals and riffs). The energetic and hooking "Surrounded by Shadows", the elegant and climatic "Praying for a New Tomorrow" (with heavy riffs and the keyboards filling the due spaces with very good arrangements), and the perfect balance between melodies and aggressiveness on "Evil Dance" with its fine vocals can be pointed out as their best moments on the album; but it's good from the beginning to the end.

So, although "Heaven's Gate" can be appreciated with no problems, they can still do even better than what we hear here.<