All I can say is that STORMRIDER is no STORMWARRIOR, STORMWITCH, or  STORMHUNTER! I am not too familiar with this band, but as I began to review them, I realized that I actually had their earlier albums. Their debut effort "Shipwrecked" on Underground Symphony Records has impressed me most. They have serious potential, but overall, I feel that there is much needed room for improvement.

The aggressive opener for "The Path of Salvation" initiates the listener into a blistering blaze of Metal transcendence, just as "Warpath" did for their sophomore outing "Fate Of The Hunter". I assume the band took their appellative from the awesome ICED EARTH album title. I am grateful that they have a more Teutonic style, and is not just another wicked wayward ICED EARTH clone coming our way. In fact they have more in common with acts like DEJA' VU, PARAGON, and DRAGONSFIRE. However, none of their songs seem to stick with me, carry that flame of passion, or let metal reign in my memory like the aforementioned acts do so often.

Perhaps it is the ambivalent vocals of Stefan Hebes. He seems reluctant to really break the chained and desperate foundation of his impassioned histrionics. The music carries a catchy cadence, but his singing seldom matches this. He is somehow searching for that right sound that will set his sails on fire.

The slaughter is on with the fast-paced "Walls of Fire", and if the vocals do not concern you, then the music will definitely damage your senses, at least until you get to the mid-paced "Heretics" which places the band at a crossroads between melodic inclinations, and the vicious circle of betrayers who mimic, but seldom inspire.

The glue that really holds this band together is the engaging guitar dynamics of Jan G. and Ingo Rieger. Both fugitives of the fret board rip and tear, playing with effective speed, creating some mesmerizing guitar harmonies. The production values for this their second effort for Pure Steel Records have improved drastically, as well.

We are one, and I do respect that this band from Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia have managed to stay strong for over a decade with only one lineup change adding new drummer Sascha Schiller to the fury of this cyclone of terror.

I get a sense that this album is conceptual like PARADOX's cool account of the Cathars on their masterful "Heresy" sophomore outing. However, this is nowhere near as noteworthy, and it is a long way down the line from the taste my steel rhythms and affectations that classic release still holds to this day.

So to quote the band themselves, it is "Die Or Prevail" if STORMRIDER want to avoid becoming shipwrecked in the raging waters of mediocrity and banality. They need to storm the castle walls and stand strong in the light if they plan to weather the storm of the ever evolving Metal milieu.