SKELETOON, now that's a goofy name. But in Power Metal goofiness and eccentricity is not something that people will raise eyebrows about. Especially in its European incarnation the genre relishes in being over the top and ridiculously awesome/awesomely ridiculous. Italy is a country with a quite strong standing in Power Metal history. Sure, Euro-Power Metal started with HELLOWEEN and STRATOVARIUS, and Germany and Sweden are powerhouses that dwarf everyone around them, but Italy gave the world one of the most iconic Power Metal bands, RHAPSODY OF FIRE, and has quite a few bands that reached international success (LABŸRINTH, ATHEMIS or WHITE SKULL). It seems to me that the Italians have a knack for this melodic - and melodramatic - stuff, the sound of Italian bands is distinctive, it has an extra flare, so to speak.

SKELETOON write albums about - you've guessed it - about skeletons, their third album "They Never Say Die" has cute "Pirates of the Caribbean" meets Tim Burton sort of pirate theme. The music is firmly rooted in the Euro-Power Metal sound of bands like STRATOVARIUS, EDGUY or SONATA ARCTICA, but also has a bit of a Hard Rock edge to it in the vein of AVANTASIA. The band is quite open about their inspiration by AVANTASIA actually, the album even has a cover of "Farewell" on it. Many of the songs have catchy, high-octane choruses that are on the sugary side of the Power Metal spectrum - the choruses of the opener "Hell-O" or the third song with the absolutely metal name "The Truffle Shuffle Army: Bizardly Bizarre", for example, are made of the same cheesy ingredients used in FREEDOM CALL's kitchen.

As I've mentioned already, some songs have a bit a Hard Rock vibe to them not dissimilar to AVANTASIA. "Last Chance" is one of those songs, as is "The Chain Master" that gives me a strong "The Metal Opera" vibe. The album obviously must have one 80s Hard Rock ballad on it, and SKELETOON know how to pull it off: "To Leave a Land" is a nice song, it is sentimental as hell obviously, but calls forth more emotion than embarrassment, as these songs often do. Some other songs to mention is the title track. There is a very over the top goofy synth melody, that interestingly contrasts with a very cool sounding Hard Rock (ish) verse. The chorus has the typical Euro-Power driving rhythm and catchiness - it's sheer bombast. One little surprise on the album is the eight minutes long "When Legends Turn Real". It has some compositional shifts, with some parts reminding me a bit of SYMPHONY X or later SONATA ARCTICA, so it's basically a Power/Prog song. Oh, and there is a CYNDI LAUPER cover too.

I've honestly enjoyed this album a lot, and not just because I'm getting burned out on Technical Dissonant Blackened Death-Grind etc. All the songs on the album are catchy and well written, the music is over the top, but it is done with such an attitude that it is entertaining rather than annoying. The only reservation I have is about the AVANTASIA cover - I don't see that they add anything new to the original song and the album is a bit overlong, so its exclusion might be a good idea, but that's my only reproval. "They Never Say Die" is a quality Euro-Power release by a super talented band. I'm sure these Italian buccaneers will go places and that plunder and glory awaits them beyond the horizon.