Metal Underground.com

At first glance, given the band's name and album artwork, I assumed them to be a Candlemass-inspired doom metal band, but two seconds into the opening riff of "Nemesis Divine (Trial of the Gods)" put those thoughts to rest. Relying on nothing even reminiscent of doom metal, they instead open up a case of metal-meets-power-metal-infused whoop ass on "Nemesis Divine."

The above-mentioned title track's intro, which incorporates a verse from the King James translation of Matthew 13:41-42, adds to the overall old-school feel of the CD. This segues into a very traditional power metal mid-tempo double bass drum romp. The solo section, as with every other aspect of this effort, is very melodic and tasteful, a formula that runs rampant through the entirety of the album (minus the bible scripture, of course). The dual guitar onslaught of Thord Klarstrom (who is also the lead vocalist) and Peter Samuelsson, in conjunction with the talents of now former drummer Mikael Karlsson and bassist Niklas Nord, deliver exactly what their motto states: “Pure f@$king heavy metal."

The disc at times conjures up a blend of power metal and old-school melodic metal ala Riot, Seven Witches, and Fifth Angel, while still maintaining the band's own sonic identity. In places like the chorus of "The Curse," there are shades of more recent power metal bands, such as Angra, that shine through in their music. This release runs the gamut from headbanging grooves like "No Return" to the traditional power metal gallops on "Storm of Fate." This is metal in one of its truest forms; no lack of good songwriting hidden behind virtuoso guitar shredding or over-the-top keyboard noodling, just plain good-old heavy metal.

Long story short, if you are firm believer as I am that metal music of the early 80’s to the early 90’s was when the genre peaked, then this is a band and album that you definitely need to check out.