Damnation Angels
The Valiant Fire

Some valiant fire comes out of this Swedish-English band for their second album, it looks kind of exciting – the artwork for the album that is. They came with big claims and stuff for their first album stating that they were doing music that bands like Rhapsody, Kamelot or Nightwish don’t do anymore, those are very big claims for a band releasing their debut album. They half-matched their claims with a good album on their debut, and they are claiming that they were going for a sound that is as epic as it is unique – that sounds quite exciting but such claims are unfortunately rarely met. So lets see if they can live up to what they say again.

Well, I think they are claiming too much as this album is neither unique nor epic as it tends to get a little long because a playing time of more than an hour is too long in most circumstances. They play symphonic power metal and have a good singer and I think that this is a very well produced album. The sound is very good and they do have some interesting aspects to their music but it isn’t that exciting or unique. Have you heard a band called Lost Horizon, they sound quite like them and have you heard the debut album you will kind of know how it sounds as well. It is a bit better produced than the debut and I would call it an evolvement of the band’s sound.

It is a pretty good album, maybe not the most exciting or unique I have ever heard. I kind of like the album but at the same time I cannot say that it makes any lasting impression, it works okay for a while of entertainment but has nothing that really catches my attention. I would say that it is not as good as the debut album that had more energy and a fresher feel to it, the vocalist is probably the best thing about the album – though, I think that the atmosphere is pretty strong on the album but I think that the band can be a bit disappointed considering that a good atmosphere can only do so much.

No track stand out from the other, the album holds a constant quality all through the album. To me it was a bit disappointing considering that it is not as good as the debut but I don’t think those who have become fans of the band after hearing the debut will be disappointed, fans of Lost Horizon will hear what they have waited for since that band’s last album. In the end I think that we can conclude that this is a good album for the fans of the band and the genre, but I don’t really think it offers anything that we haven’t already heard done better in the past. Are you a fan of Damnation Angels or symphonic metal? Then I’ll think this album is something for you.

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