(Speed Power Metal) Cydonia - The Dark Flower - 2003, APE (image+.cue), lossless

I still remember Cydonia's self-titled debut as a not very much exciting power metal album. Comparing their new and second CD The Dark Flower to the first one, I think it's easy to hear that the boys from Italy have achieved considerable progress. The great use of high speed guitars and double bass drum invite you to a marvellous metal journey into the past. Parallels to the early Helloween or the timeless Rage are inevitable. Especially the vocals are sounding nearly identical to Rage's frontman Peavey Wagner's. Melody and speed are combined in an adequate way so that the album doesn't show any elements of monotony. But the CD also contains some commercial (Dark Flower) and epic (Another Age) elements. A stranger but no less interesting song is Beyond Lime where distortion effects are used on the vocals. But in general, this is one of the best records where pop and metal get mixed up. Italy has meanwhile become one of the most important countries for great power metal and Cydonia have done a great leap to the peak of this group.

Dan Keying - vocals
Steve Sguario - guitars
Trevor O´Neal - bass
Lee Crow - Keyboards
Mat Stancioiu - drums