The first time I encountered singer extraordinaire Juan Ricardo is when I saw him performing with his band WRETCH. It was in Little Devil in Tilburg, the Netherlands, and they played so well that they blew the roof off the place. I described it as a mix between early IRON MAIDEN and AGENT STEEL. Something that didn't across completely when I listened to the albums I bought on the night. When I spoke to him that night he told me about starting work as an ambassador for Pure Steel Records, but also about his other projects and bands. One of which is SUNLESS SKY.

So, when the chance arose to review the "Prelude To Madness" album, I jumped to my laptop and immediately requested to be issued this one. And lo and behold, Metal Temple came through. And I can conclude that my assessment of Juan Ricardo as a singer that sounds a lot like John Cyriis was absolutely accurate. You only have to listen to the opening title track to feel that you've entered a parallel AGENT STEEL dimension. The big difference being that SUNLESS SKY is pure US / Heavy / Power Metal in comparison to the Thrash Metal that you could have contemplated to expect.

But I have to say, it works. As there are only three players on this album, the guitars have been recorded multiple times to achieve the big and bold sound that "Prelude To Madness" is throwing at us. It also does help that all the songs are very good. They have body, they have substance, they have meaning. And SUNLESS SKY has a very good guitarist in Ed Miller, and although he does like going up and down his ladders just a tad too often, he does know how to keep your interest there where it should be.

So, if you like your Metal with so much power it will be able to blow your socks off, and you'd like the album you're listening to be as bold and powerful as THE THREE TREMORS are, with a singer to match, then you really can't go wrong with "Prelude To Madness". And if this is what SUNLESS SKY stands from now on, it will be very interesting to see what we can expect next. Plus, this will give you reason to look out for the first two albums, "Firebreather" (2014) and "Doppelgänger" (2017).