Review by Adam M on November 17, 2016.

Sumerlands play a traditional take on metal that is very inspired by Ozzy Osbourne. The vocals of this album in particular recall the throat man. However, the riffs are largely reminiscent of heavy metal’s glorious past and they have a heroic vibe to them. This leads to a very upbeat platter of traditional metal.

The mood of the glory of yesteryear is the one that is most prominent on this disc. It radiates a warm glow that is difficult to ignore. Those that like the classic style of metal will find the most to like here for certain. The tracks have memorable guitar riffs that will repetitively replay in your brain. This can be seen from the song The Guardian. Twin guitar leads are also present and complement the verse licks. The instruments are complemented by a solid vocalist that is really old school in nature. This all adds up to a solid album of classical inspired music. However, it is not perfect. The songs drift by a little uneventfully and resemble other groups from the past a little too closely. This means that the impact is drowned out slightly by the imperfections. One would wish this music would be very original sounding, but it is hard to make it such. Also, the album is rather short. This makes the songs more succinct, but it also makes for a rather brief experience that goes away quickly. People that like this old school style might want the music to last longer. Still, the songs have enough impact in their short running times and win the listener over with their old school flavor.

It must be said that this classic aura is very welcoming to hear once in a while and this album delivers on most of its promises. A quality vintage recording can be had with Sumerlands, but not much more than that.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10