(Power Metal) [CD] Dark Empire - Distant Tides - 2006, FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

So a few months ago I saw an extremely positive review for this album on the internet. From the description it sounded cool, so I went ahead and listened to this. And I'm extremely impressed. It's an excellent album, and I sincerely hope that this band keeps making more material (they have 2 albums out now). Now then, onto the details.

The album starts out with the song We Will Never Die. It's a fun song, although a bit generic. It's surprising that this was made by an American, since this sounds like something that's more likely to come from a German power metal band. But anyways, once the song is done, this album really begins to get good.

The next three songs are the high point of the album. They have some of the best riffs, vocals, and solos on this entire album. And while I have little taste in drumming, it really stands out for me on these three tracks, so that's something to look forward to. 2 of these songs, Distant Tides and A Soul Divided, have growling included making these tracks stick out a bit on the album. The growls are used extremely well. They never feel forced or out of place. Especially on Distant Tides, where as the growling is about to end, the singer comes in providing an excellent transition. These two songs probably have some of the best use of mixed vocals that I've heard in a long time. The other song of these three is The Alchemist, It's a catchy generic power metal tune, and is actually really awesome despite how generic it sounds. It also has an excellent solo. Probably the best one on the album, and it provides a great transition from We Will Never Die to A Soul Divided.

Now, the end of this album sadly sinks in quality from the excellent three tracks in the middle. There's two songs left, one of them an instrumental. The instrumental track (called The Final Vision) really just drags out far too long, which is a shame because it's the last song on the album. It's really never good to end an album with a boring song that is in need of severe of shortening. And the other song, Northern Sky, is good fun, but with the greatness of the middle songs, it feels like the band just got lazy and just wanted to end the album. Which is a shame because the album is so short.

And this really is the greatest weakness of the album. It's only got 6 songs. When you listen to the whole thing, and it finishes you think "that's it?" It's good, and when its so short it makes you want so much more than this, which is why i knocked 10% off the rating.

Matt Moliti Guitars, Vocals (harsh)
Noah Martin Bass
Teemu Takhanen Drums
Jens Carlsson Vocals