The frontiers between Heavy Metal and Power Metal aren’t as defined as some people would say, and that’s the reason because many bands walk in a mean way between both genres. But such alchemy must have a result: the fusion of the melodic weight of Heavy Metal with a refined technical appeal, and this result can be unbalanced sometimes. But the quintet SOLITARY SABRED (from Cyprus) shows that they know what they’re doing as depicted by “Temple of the Serpent”, their new full-length. The band’s guitarist Nikolas “Sprits” Moutafis called the responsibility of working as producer and the one who signs the recordings, mixing and mastering of the album, creating something that resembles the organic sonorities of the past, trying to have the more ‘live feeling’ possible.

It works, with the band sounding heavy and understandable, but some instrumental could be better. And the artwork is a creation of Kostas Tsiakos, a very good work, indeed. The band bound together influences from Heavy Metal of the 80s (especially from US Metal and NWOBHM) with Power Metal from North American School, and maybe in an involuntary way some Epic Metal and Hard Rock traces as well. The formula isn’t new, but the way they use it is honest, full of energy and personal. It’s like one can fuse on the same cauldron JUDAS PRIEST, HELSTAR, JAG PANZER, MANOWAR (“Lament” depicts such thing), KING DIAMOND and others, but always trying to do things on their own. It’s heavy and melodic, intense and full of energy!

On the songs, the band works in a very good way, bringing their fans a very good musical release, where songs as “The Skeleton King” (a heavy and fast song with many melodic hooks, with very good vocals that uses normal tunes and some high-pitched screams), “Spectral Domain” (excellent bass guitar parts and technical drumming to create a solid rhythmic wall), “Bound by the Lich” (where the band depicts its US Metal influences, with the weight of Heavy Metal aligned with catching Hard Rock melodies), “Lament” (a more epic and melancholic moment with charming clean arrangements), “Flight of the Banshee” (an intense and heavy song with excellent guitar riffs and solos), “Reaper of Kur” (this one has that old and good ‘manowarian’ mix between melodies and weight, but revisited on a personal way), and “Gates of Namtar” will seduce the hearer easily.

Being on the road for more than 20 years is a hard experience, but SOLITARY SABRED learned precious lesson of it, and “Temple of the Serpent” depicts such maturity.