DOMINE – Stormbringer Ruler

If you learn the full title for this CD, you must be a fan. I am a fan. Actually – Domine belongs to the very best epic power metal bands out there, or maybe this is fantasy metal? It doesn’t really matter. Journalists label music only because they’re too lazy to tell you how it really sounds. And I am no different. So let’s go with fantasy metal, influenced by writers as well as old school power metal bands from the eighties. This is Domine’s third album, and there’s a huge improvement in sound this time around. The first was very low budget, the second was good, while this time, sound-wise, it’s very good. On the other hand, song-wise, I have to say that the last album, “Dragonlord”, was a bit stronger. Not much, just a bit… But that doesn’t mean there are no killer songs here; hell no!

The opener is brilliant, and has a cool guitar riff, while the closer has an incredibly cool guitar melody. The ballad, “For Evermore”, is also great, and the only title I care to mention. (All the other songs have never ending titles that would make this review the longest one so far at Metal Express Radio…) Seriously, I’ll sum this up as another great CD by today’s masters of the genre, with once again stunning and quite unique guitar work by bandleader Enrico Paoli.