Emerald is a heavy metal band from Switzerland that was formed about 15 years ago and this is their sixth album. Their previous releases are “Rebels of our Time” (1999, independent), “Calling the Knights” (2001), “Forces of Doom” (2004), “Hymns of Steel” (2007) and “Reforged” (2010). Emerald is one of the bands that have their own unique sound. They play power metal but they have their own trademark sound. In the new album, though, things are a bit different. The band has lost its identity and has turned into another power metal band. With this I mean that their new work is just a usual power metal album which makes you feel a bit tired while you listen to it. The tracks that really stand out are “Eye of the Serpent” and “Harleking”. The rest of the album contains mediocre stuff which can be found in many average power metal albums. So instead of buying this album I would suggest buying “Re-Forge” from Pure Steel Records, “Rebels of our Time” or “Calling the Knights”. I know that songs like “Independence”, “Forever Free”, “I Will Remember” and “Rebels of our Time” can’t be written every day, but I expected that the songwriting in this album would be better…
P.S.: I had the chance to see them live at Up The Hammers festival and they were really good. It is a pity that only a small group of fans seemed to appreciate their show…
6,5/10 Ioannis “Knight of Light” Kaskamanidis
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