Ladies and gentlemen, introducing the Power Metal quintet from the United Kingdom, GRIMGOTTS. This band was formed just four years ago, and has released some couple of EPs, a bunch of singles and a decent full-length debut. This year, they have returned with all might and glory with their second incarnation, "Dragons of the Ages". GRIMGOTTS' debut might be considered a "shaky first step", but "Dragons of the Ages" comes in like a shiny sword, proving that they have matured and improved a lot over the past two years. Filled with bright melodies and a triumphant atmosphere, this album can be easily elected as the happiest and most glorious power metal album of the year so far. Take the joyful vibe of TWILIGHT FORCE, combine that with the thrilling quests of GLORYHAMMER, and a little pinch of ALESTORM to the mixture and you'll get an impression of how this album sounds.

Right from the opening moments of "War's Come to Our Shores", the band is already displaying all-out power metal wonders. The attacks on vocals fit so much to their overall sound, creating an operatic vibe on it and making you feel like you are seeing a classical stage play. The tunes of "The Last Dragon Warriors" and "Ancient Waters" are straight-up catchy and epic, and you will surely enjoy every moment that passes. The combo of keys and guitars is mostly the reason behind the highly anthemic sound, and those combos are all throughout the album - may it be short passages or epic solos (or shall we say duets?). One more thing that makes the album super irresistible is the level of energy. Right from the beginning until the very last track "Here Be Dragonlords", the band never seemed to run out of gas.

However, despite all the praises I have given this album, there is one issue in the latter half of the album that needs to be pointed out. Starting from "The King Under the Sea", the sound had been so monotonous and static. Sure, the energy is still kicking high, the mood is still epic and triumphant, but it sounded all the same since then. It's like you're listening to the same song for straight 30 minutes. Like I mentioned earlier in this review, this album comes in like a shiny sword proving that this band has improved a lot since their last album. But unfortunately, a sword being shiny does not indicate that it is razor sharp. Although they have improved a lot, there is still this problem they have in the production. They have successfully kept the energy high but (maybe unintentionally) sacrificed dynamism in the process. It's a decent listen though, after all.