STORMAGE – Dead Of Night

Dead Of Night is the 3^rd album from Germany’s Stormage. The album is sure to please Power Metal fans who appreciate a level of song writing sophistication that invites the listener to hear songs over again. There are generous amounts of guitar virtuosity and headbanging riffs throughout the album. Stormage are at their best when playing uptempo and incorporating changes in pace and breaks. Melodic songs such as “Prime Of Life” and “Victims Eyes”, while well crafted, are not a strength of the band mainly due to weak vocal sustainment and backing vocals. The production of the album is sound. Guitar, drums, and vocals are well blended. However, many of the songs include mood setting sound effect intros such as thunder, rain, cell phone ringtones, church bells and the like that tend to dampen the raw power of the opening notes of the songs.

The album’s opening track, “Instinct To Defend” is one such track. It starts with a verbal countdown amidst a cacophony of alarm tones and then rips into a hammering onslaught that establishes the headbanging beachhead for the entire album. Paced by high speed double bass drumming and frantic guitar work, this song will not fail to grab your attention. The second song, “Anguish Of Mind”, is straightforward Power Metal that dispenses with any intro sound effects and allows the power of the band to gain traction immediately. Another stand out track is “Drag You To Hell”, which features a bit of Metalcore riffing to provide a churning reference point and a growling bass to provide an appropriate level of sinister intent for the subject matter of the song. The last song is “Borne The Agony”; a song that showcases a keyboard and spoken word intro before breaking into a gallop and propelling the album to an upbeat finish.

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