Winter's Verge
Beyond Vengeance

Cypriot band Winter’s Verge are back with what is either their third or fourth studio album depending on which source you decide to cite, no matter which number album in the discography this is it is clear that they like to release albums when we have winter cold around here. Last time out it was nearing minus 40°C and now we had around zero degrees and light snowfall around the release date, fascinating isn’t it? One thing I have been able to deduce from the two releases we have been handed from this band is that they do know the importance of having good album covers as both their latest album covers has been really good. Last time out I described them as having a finnish sound and funnily enough they went on tour with one of those very finnish bands, Stratovarius, isn’t that a funny coincident? Now then two years later it is time for the album following Tales of Tragedy and once again it is RD Lipakis who has been handed the production duties for this effort called Beyond Vengeance.

The sound is recognisable from the work preceding this album, it is the same kind of very melodic power metal with a very finnish sound a sound also enriched by symphonic elements and a quite pompous song structure at times, while at other times it is a rather small sound made to suit a smaller venue one might feel. It can be described as epic as it has this feeling of an adventurous story being told within the music, I have no idea if that is really the case but that is the feel of the music. There is a good deal of variation over the eleven tracks of this album making the music feel as though it is going somewhere at all times, and if you don’t want to take my word for what it is, have listen for yourself below. For you who are eager to know what is different from the previous album I can say that this album feels a bit more adventurous, it is heavier, it has more groove and it is better produced.

I was asking for a hit song when reviewing Tales of Tragedy, this album’s predecessor, and now in the opening track Cunning Lullabies that has been addressed and it is not only that because that brilliant hit song is followed by several other powerful and really good songs that will easily stick in your mind. Most of these songs are better than what we got on Tales of Tragedy as well. I was also looking for more variation as the songs were too similar on the earlier album and that is another thing we see on this album it has good variation and thanks to that it always feels as if the album has a direction which helps the 53 minutes the album goes on for to feel much shorter. I think that it is quite fair to say that Winter’s Verge has improved their craft on all accounts because this album’s predecessor was good but quite uneventful and uninspiring much like my review of the album, this album is exciting and inspiring to listen to, and especially the opening track makes you stop and take notice.

I said last time out that Winter’s Verge showed promise but they needed to write a hit song to really shine, guess what? now they do shine and they do that with a real glow. Beyond Vengeance shows Winter’s Verge from their best side, exciting, grande, powerful, catchy and melodic, it is a brilliant album well worth recommending to any fan of power metal. This album may actually be the surprise of the year so far as I could never had expecting something like this based on what they brought out last time around, so thank you Winter’s Verge for your cunning lullabies.