When I think of female-fronted Metal and Rock bands, the immediate list that springs to mind is not a large one. WITHIN TEMPTATION, EVANESCENCE, NIGHTWISH, PARAMORE, HALESTORM and, as I am glad to have discovered recently, BOG OAK are among those off the top of my head, and it is for this reason that I am always overjoyed to hear of a new one giving it a go. The new female-fronted project named SHIRAN from Israel is a fresh take on the genre, with plenty of hard-hitting riffs and a healthy dose of beautiful, clean and melodic vocals that soar above the rest of the music.

While technically "Warm Winter Days" is a short album instead of an EP, it is still easy to think of it as one due to its short length of only 5 tracks and the fact that it is a debut release that gives us an idea of the general sound of the band. The opening track "Remain" immediately seems confident and powerful in its guitars, which bear a passing resemblance to the Nu-Metal style of riffing.

The titular track, "Warm Winter Day" begins with a slightly slower tempo and softer tone which both almost bring it into Hard Rock territory, before it ramps up the heaviness as it gets going. This and "Remain" are tied between my two personal favourite songs. "The Child" opens suddenly and powerfully before continuing with a riff that once again drives home the rhythm with a Nu-Metal style guitar riff.

"Glint Of Light" begins with a slow, classic sounding guitar that wouldn't be amiss in a HALESTORM album before moving on to a hard-hitting riff alongside the slow, long-noted vocals. "Burden's Off" is an uplifting song that begins nicely and atmospherically, but fails to develop much and ends up being perhaps the least impressive track overall.

Despite this, the short album still impresses due partly to the fact that it has been recorded by only two people, but also because the music itself is more than competent. The only slight let down is that with only 5 songs, you might expect there to be slightly more variety than there is. Still, this is a highly enjoyable listen despite its length, and you owe it to both your ears and Metal in general to at least give it a quick go.