Album review: IRON MASK – Fifth Son Of Winterdom

AFM Records www.afmrecords.de

Iron Mask are another new band on me though Fifth Son of Winterdoom is their fifth studio release following on from Revenge Is My Name (2002), Hordes of the Brave (2005), Shadow of the Red Baron (2010) and Black as Death (2011). The brainchild behind the band is Belgian guitarist Dushan Petrossi. Much travelled, former Yngwie Malmsteen vocalist, Mark Boals provides the powerhouse vocals on his second release with Iron Mask.

The songs can all be regarded as power metal, if you want to lump them into any category, but there are variations with commercial touches here and there.

Back Into Mystery kicks things off with what could pass as one of Avantasia’s more straight forward numbers but the guitar solo just sounds totally out of place. Like a Lion in a Cage brings Mr Boal’s former employer Yngwie Malmsteen to mind with its neoclassical flourishes. The title track, being the epic number on here, is also the best tune offered up – apart from the intro footsteps in the snow which sound like someone rustling a Tesco plastic bag…

Father Farewell offers up Petrossi’s tribute to his father who died several years back and can best be described as a power ballad with an emotional acoustic guitar intro. The other stand out track is the commercial sing-along metal of Run to Me.

Unfortunately there are too many songs on here that just blend together and are forgettable…and Reconquista 1492 just doesn’t work for me. The production could also be a little better with Mark Boal’s vocals buried too deep in the mix at times. The cover artwork is superb though…

Standard Euro-type power metal with a few standout tracks.

***

Review by Phil Berisford

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