"Guardians Of Metal"
By Jonathan Mariante The Band is called Total Eclipse, the CD is called "Guardians Of Metal", the cover has a dragon on it...Gotta be power metal! This is a four song CD from this band,who hail from California but sound similar to many German bands of this ilk, such as Blind Guardian and Sacred Steel. Fans of these bands should enjoy Total Eclipse. These guys are certainly capable musicians. Singer Andy Giardina has a strong and clear voice, a bit like Micheal Kiske of Helloween fame; guitarist brothers Erik and Chris Cameron do the dual guitar thing well, and can really burn up the fretboard on the solos; Bassist Owen Hart appears to garner much influence from Steve Harris; and drummer Ramon Ochoa certainly knows his way around his drum kit, and does some good double-bassing. The disc begins with the title track, which starts off being played on classical guitar, but then kicks into gear (the album ends in a similar way). The remaining three tracks, "Bloodbath", "Nevermore" (appearantly inspired by E.A. Poe's poem "The Raven"), and "Storm Warning" are strong tracks, the type of thing you'd expect from a power metal band. These guys are certainly good at what they do, and I am a fan of power metal, but there are many bands like this out there, so if these guys plan on being serious contenders, they need to come up with a style that is all their own, rather than just imitating their heroes. As good as they are, a bit originality may give them the boost they need. All the best to 'em!
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