SILENT WINTER – Utopia

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7.0

• Bands:
  SILENT WINTER
• Duration: 00:47:48
• Available from: 11/22/2024
• Label:

• No Remorse Records

Streaming not yet available

Nowadays, power metal is divided into two substantial strands: those who introduce theatrical and symphonic elements and those who still follow the doctrine of double bass and neoclassical solos. Both branches have notable bands on their side who have allowed the genre to open up to the general public again, and, here in the second case, there are also some unexpected gems. It is indeed a pleasure to see a Silent Winter album released once again by Hellenic guitarist Kiriakos Balanos, who have already reappeared on these pages after their unlikely reunion in 2018 with a completely renewed line-up.
Well, if you liked “Empire Of Sins” we can safely advise you to buy “Utopia”, the band's new studio effort, with your eyes closed: everything the new Silent Winter can do is reconfirmed right from the priest-esque “We Burn The Future”, where as always Mike Livas' incredible voice gives further luster to the song.
The recipe is always the same: power of Teutonic and European origin shot in a burst in the listener's face, like the epic “Hellstorm”, enriched by the keyboard work of newcomer Maria Moscxeta.
As had already happened in previous albums, the pieces that in our opinion work best are those clearly inspired by classic heavy music: listen to the rocky “Manifest Of God”, which could very well have come from one of Judas Priest's albums with Ripper Owens on vocals, while the rhythm section composed of John Antonopoulos on drums and Vaggelis Tsekouras on bass gives its best in the lilting “Hands Held High” and the lighter “Heart Is A Lonely Hunter”, which takes Silent Winter almost more into hair metal territories.
No particular innovation on the horizon, therefore: just the desire to express one's love for a genre that for many years remained muted in the advance of modern metal, in a very derivative and unoriginal way, although played in a very compelling way and worthy.
As always, the work of Vaggelis Papadimitriou and Balanos on guitars remains excellent, a duo now consolidated after six years of playing together, capable of enriching the pieces with loads of riffs and solos of clear Halloween origin. Despite a certain and inevitable derivativeness, even the most Finnish power pieces such as “Silent Shadows” and the final “Utopia” hold up well to the blow, giving us yet another well-produced album, cheerful enough without lapsing into farce and with a decidedly interesting.
In short, all things considered, the third album of Silent Winter's resurrection reconfirms what we have already heard previously without either advancing or retreating, and, as far as we're concerned, that's fine: if you like old-school European power, it's definitely an album worth recovering. .