Review by Lynxie on June 1, 2022.

A small fact about me, I'm a huge Firewind fangirl. And let's just say that they'd managed to pick up some damn good vocalists. I generally made it a point to follow their works in other bands, so when I heard one of their former mike-wielders, Henning Basse, was in a new band, you bet I'm going to check it out. And my, am I impressed.

Seeing as Legions Of The Night is hailing from Germany, it’s not much of a surprise that Sorrow Is the Cure is a pretty heavy album. The overall tempo is slower than your average bright and speedy EUPM, and the riffs are heavier and more chugging - I almost banged my head instinctively to songs like 'Lie' and 'Find The Truth'. The bass is definitely mixed more forward than most records I’ve heard in a while. And I highly suspect they’d took a page out of Savatage’s book when it comes to keyboard arrangements - the thing is everywhere. It’s used in the intros and outros to evoke a more melancholic mood. It’s pushed alongside the riffs to add to the dynamics. It also adds a somewhat progressive tinge to the whole album.They have strong orchestration too. In fact, the second ballad 'Rescue Me' actually went for pure orchestral arrangements and abandoned the guitars and drums.

Since we’re already on the topic of ballads, this album actually has two - 'Someday Somewhere' and 'Rescue Me'. Okay, two ballads is definitely a bit too much for my nerves, and I would’ve been very annoyed had it not been Basse on the vocals. I guess I had always openly expressed my preference for the more classical metal influenced vocalists in the genre and Basse definitely falls under that category, his vocal works being rougher and more raspy than the majority of his Italian and Finnish peers. I mean, his soulful voice just makes ballads work for me. Besides, he can definitely hit those high notes with ease.

The overall mood of the LP is actually darker than one would generally expect of power metal. Being heavy helped in that aspect. The keyboard strewn everywhere and the slightly progressive orchestration contributes to the melancholic atmosphere as well. These guys could definitely give Witherfall a run for their money. The lyrics also mainly concerns sorrow and pain and fear and similar, heavier topics, though the last few songs had took a more optimistic turn. I mean, they did went from "Hope is just failure in disguise" to "Pains, rentless, it's strong and restless. Face it now and fight".

The greatest flaw of this release for me is probably the drag. I'm talking about the intros to 'Train To Nowhere', 'Walls Of Sorrow', 'Sorrow Is the Cure' - they are these slow piano intros which got me thinking straightaway that they were ballads. It’s vaguely annoying since I prefer to be met head on with some beefy riffs and I'm always tempted to skip songs with slow or atmospheric intros. The annoyance just increases when the main riff came out and the said tracks are pretty hard and banging. Also, I’ll say it again, two ballads is a bit too much for a record not even reaching beyond 1 hour. Still, there’s Henning Basse. And there are songs like 'Lie' and 'Pay The Price'. There’s no doubt that this is a very impressive and solid debut.

Highlights: 'Lie', 'Walls Of Sorrow', 'Shoot And Save', 'Pay The Price'

Rating: 8.9 out of 10