As has been pointed out more times than I care to mention, the internet has truly given a better platform to metal bands all over the world, with some countries seeing a much greater focus in recent years than they have done previously. There have been a lot of bands from Denmark receiving attention in the past ten years, alongside acts from New Zealand, Mongolia, and South Africa. Italy is another country that has seen a lot of great groups emerge and gain attention, especially when it comes to power metal, and perhaps no Italian band has quite grabbed net-surfing head banger's attention quite like Wind Rose. The self-styled "dwarven metal" band were steadily building a fan base before their rendition of "Diggy Diggy Hole" received tens of millions of YouTube streams, and they've capitalised on that perfectly by writing good music to keep people interested. The band has now unleashed their sixth album, "Trollslayer," which promises to keep their profile rising.

"Trollslayer" opens with a short instrumental piece, which is surprisingly beautiful and does an excellent job of creating the atmosphere and exciting for the eight songs ahead, bleeding into the next track, "Dance Of The Axes." I often use the word "standard" in reviews, though I do my best to mix up the vocabulary, but this is a case of a song being standard in a positive way. Power metal albums work best when the first song is fast and thrilling, which is what "Dance Of The Axes" does. It's not the best song on offer, lacking the x factor that makes it an excellent song, but it is good and the music is fun enough to keep the listener engaged and interested in hearing more.

Imagination always plays a role in power metal, whether it's the lyrics conjuring up images of fantastical landscapes, creatures and stories, or just thinking about how these tracks will go down live, and there are numerous songs which will sound absolutely amazing live. One of these would be "Rock And Stone," one of the singles released in advance of the record's release, which has a jaunty, cheerful melody reminiscent of "Diggy Diggy Hole," so fans who followed the band after hearing that will be happy with this. Meanwhile another of the singles, "To Be A Dwarf," maintains this upbeat energy, while offering a more epic take on the style. Elsewhere, "Legacy Of The Forge" changes the atmosphere at just the right time, before the album closes very strongly with the near eight minute epic, "No More Sorrow."

While there's a lot to enjoy about "Trollslayer" and it is a very good album, one could argue that it does lack the last piece of the puzzle to make it a great power metal album, which we've had so far this year from Firewind and Alterium. "The Great Feast Underground" for example, another song that was selected as a single, is solid, but doesn't do anything more than one would expect. This is also true of the title track. The journey of the album isn't let down by any bad songs, but by tracks not really passing the level of "pretty good." Taste is subjective of course, and it's possible, if not probable, that fans will enjoy these songs more than a more neutral listener, but speaking as the latter, I felt these stopped "Trollslayer" from becoming excellent, though not by much.

All in all, "Trollslayer" is pretty much exactly what Wind Rose fans would be hoping for. It delivers on the fun, the sing along parts, the imagination and the talent that have made them one of the more famous power metal bands in recent years. For those not so into their catalogue, or power metal fans who have heard several albums from the genre, it's a solid addition to the list of this year's releases, but not necessarily a stand out. Wind Rose remains one of the more intriguing bands of their ilk and will no doubt win over more fans when they take these songs on the road. It's a very good album, but not a classic. Perhaps the "Somewhere In Time" or "Powerage" of their career.