WIND ROSE is a Symphonic Metal Band born in Italy in 2009. In 2010 the band released an EP under the production of Cristiano Bertocchi (ex-LABYRINTH, ex-VISION DIVINE), followed by their first full-length "Shadows Over Lothadruin" and a European tour supporting bands like WINTERSUN, FINNTROLL and EPICA. In 2015 they were busy touring with ELUVEITIE and releasing their second album "Wardens of The West Wind" and now, 2017 is here and we have their 3^rd release titled "Stonehymn".

I am a fantasy nerd, and when a bunch of people recommended me WIND ROSE, they put it this way 'dwarven metal at its best'. As any metal person would do, I started pulling an Anderson Cooper that projected my eyes somewhere way inside my head. Really, dwarven metal? Why am I not completely surprised though? To be fair, the first song that I have listened to was "To Erebor", yes because I may or may not be a huge Tolkien fan. To my surprise, I enjoyed it a lot, loosing track of time, putting it on repeat for at least 5 times.

Back to the top, "Stonehymn" opens up with a bit over a minute long intro that transports you into another dimension and as soon as "Dance of Fire" begins, Francesco Cavalieri calls on you with a powerful and clean voice. Prejudice or not, I was expecting a strong Italian accent, but no, his English is perfect! "Under the Stone" and "Fallen Timbers" used folk elements to enhance the music, and with a fast paced and epic choruses, the songs have a strong power metal affinity. "The Returning Race" puts you in front of a burning fire, acoustic elements and a Cavalieri who seems at ease. WIND ROSE are a pleasant surprise, a lengthy album, more towards an epic power metal album than the previous releases, full of melody, deep vocals, hard riffs and beautiful interludes that make the album whole.