There are so many bands out there that you just cannot know them all. I mean this band from Italy has been active since 1995 when I Won't Burn Alone hit the stores. So, despite their constant presence in the Metal scene I first met them through the The XIII Skull album that saw the light of the day in 2004. By that time the Italian band had moved to male vocals featuring Gus Gabarro behind the mic. To be honest I did not praise that album mainly due to the striking GRAVE DIGGER influences. Ok, all the bands have been influenced by others but when it comes to something that distinct as Boltendahl's trademark vocals things cannot be described as original.
After three full releases WHITE SKULL decided to return to their early days by recruiting Elisa to take over the vocal duties. After listening to the album several times I came to the conclusion that their decision to return to the female vocals was more than a clever one! Elisa has nothing to do with the huge pile of Tarjia wannabes since she possesses a genuine Heavy Metal voice. I bet that she thinks high of Doro because the influences from the Metal Queen are everywhere. Music wise WHITE SKULL have moved from the Euro Power Metal recipes to more traditional and kind of true paths. Some Epic elements are scattered here and there justifying the band's ancestry and (why not) making the overall sound more interesting. The guitar work flirts a little bit with the Progressive side of Metal but thankfully reside in the guitar solo territory.
One think that I also found interesting here is the sound diversity; you can find straightforward guitar driven songs like Spy or the up-tempo Forever Fight along with slower tracks that justify the term 'Epic' I mentioned above. In this group we can find Attle And Bleda and A Mother's Revenge where Elisa reveals her mid range and mostly expressional vocal lines. Of course, the sing along chorus are here with Heavy Metal Ares or Etzel but this is always welcome among the 'true' fans. Visions is one of the highlights of the album with the addictive double guitar harmonies, the early IRON MAIDEN backbone and the very good mood lifting guitar work.
This album besides of being a good one marks the beginning of the band's second era that sounds (and also looks) way better than the recent album releases. If you are more into the classic oriented Metal with minor Epic additions then WHITE SKULL are your friends! By the way, the bonus Beer, Cheers is the ultimate sing-along (and drink along) track of the album with fitting lyrics and nice keyboard melodies. Cheers!