KOBRA AND THE LOTUS are a Canadian band that has made quite a name for themselves in the recent years with their unique take on modern melodic Power Metal.  Their sound blends elements of modern American Power Metal like SYMPHONY X with more old-school NWOBHM influences (I sense some JUDAS PRIEST vibes here and there) and all that is infused with a hefty dose of melody, that have a lot in common with radio-friendly metal such as DELAIN. Some songs can get mellow and dreamy, as one would expect songs from a female-fronted band to be, but many of them are quite heavy with cool chunky riffs. The distribution of heavy versus more soft, emotional songs is actually quite even, I almost feel like the band decided to sandwich the heavier ones between the softer ones- or vice versa - across the whole album.

The album kicks off with the dark and heavy - as the title suggests - song "Loosing My Humanity". The song gets your blood pumping with some nice crunchy riffs in the verse, the chorus is big and catchy, oddly uplifting given the despondent lyrics here ("We kill, we steal, we hide from what is real, I see humans but no humanity!"). The second song is an emotional love song, which I really can dig. It doesn't come across as corny (and the lyrics are surprisingly not banal either), I even like the acoustic version that comes as a bonus track, which tells you a lot.  The third track is a delightful instrumental piece that transitions neatly into "My Immortal", which is a joyful mid-tempo tune, to which I can imagine myself rocking out to with my cool leather jacket wearing aunt. The song features also some nice a cappella singing on the bridge that lets you enjoy the sexiness of Kobra's voice.

Among the heavier songs on the album like "Human Empire" and "You' re Insane," I really enjoy the latter one. There is a cool NWOBHM sounding galloping riff and the hook in the chorus is a great throwback to old-school fist-pumping Heavy Metal. The soloing on this song is epic, it reminds me of the guitar acrobatics of SYMPHONY X. "Wine Water" is a great ballad, full of emotion but it' s not cheesy. I' m sure at least someone in the audience will take out a lighter and swing to the rhythm when they play this live. Kobra is more than capable of carrying a ballad like this vocally. All the songs here are catchy and well written. The album flows really well due to the variety in mood and tempo, the length (right under 50 minutes) is also ideal for this type of music. The production is a bit too "modern" or sterile, but that is to be expected from a release like this.

I think we have another great album here from KOBRA AND THE LOTUS, "Prevail II" is full of slick and catchy songs. You can get ready for some thunderous Power Metal, but also emotion and heartbreak. I personally dig this record a lot and would recommend to anyone to give it a spin. You may like this album more than you've expected.