Sequester - Winter Shadows (2008)

With the advent of affordable home recording and the one-man 'bedroom' band, we've been seeing thousands of such projects springing up in multiple metal genres (black, goth, goregrind, etc), but very few in the power metal field.

Ontario native Ryan Boc is out to change that, and with his first full-length album Winter Shadows, he succeeds. Boc handles all the vocals and instruments, and has written a dozen tracks of catchy and I dare say unique melodic metal. Boc is a fan of layered vocal harmonies and guitars akin to what you might hear in Blind Guardian, and he constructs some good tunes around this concept. "Winter Shadows" has a great vocal line following a simple melodic, ringing guitar. "Apocalyptic Smile" starts with a great panning guitar riff and then another mid-paced rocker with some nice melodic textures. "The Erlking" has a slower, anthemic feel which actually conjures up a band like Vikings Tyr from the Faroe Islands, yet in a pure power metal shell. The instrumental "Firefly" opens up "Serenity". Yes. Like the TV show and movie, but more on that later. "Paths of the Dead" is a nice, sad track. "Heir to the Throne" feels more like a traditional piece with some very Blind Guardian guitars.

Lyrically the album is steeped in fantasy and mythological lyrics. He even has an instrumental closing the album called "Icewind Dale". One can tell he's got an influence from Forgotten Realms PC games and novels, as well as other popular science fiction and fantasy themes (though he largely leaves Tolkien alone...it's been done after all). Normally one might squawk at this, but he doesn't just mark his territory with the dull adoration of some geek's fan fiction, he actually writes pretty decent lyrics around his subject material:

Stir from your feast
Corrupt me
Take as you reap
Hauntingly
Never cry out to the sound and the feeling of dread—worship them
Live just a moment and soon you will see it has fled—fallen hope
No one hears me call out to the lost dream

This is good stuff, at least better than a myriad of other, shitty power metal bands' lyrics. I am impressed with this album overall, but there are a few things Boc could work with and undoubtedly improve. A few of the tunes just aren't as strong as others. The vocals do occasionally lack some confidence, but as he says on his website he has no formal training. These will get better; he's already got a good voice that will appeal to fans of the rougher German power metal (Savage Circus, Paragon, Guardian, etc). The bass and drums here suffice, but they could be stronger and give the music a more thunderous sound. Perhaps this could be done by filling out the band with some like minded individuals. After hearing this, I know if I were a local musician up north, I'd certainly get in touch with him! He's really got something here and I'm eager to check out more material. For one man, this is a very impressive debut album which fans of fantasy power metal owe it to themselves to hear.

I'd wish this guy luck, but it's evident he doesn't really need any!

Verdict: Win (7.5/10)

http://www.sequester.ca/