Review by Lynxie on July 8, 2023.

----Welcome to Lynxie's Guide to Chinese Power Metal. Let us glimpse unto this weird little world caught in the past----

Well, if there's one band we Chinese power metal fans can name as the pride of our nation, Barque Of Dante will sure ascend the throne, and truly that particular glory had belong to them for all these years. Just listen to their debut and you'll understand why - despite all its rawness, Final Victory remains as what I would call a release by national standards.

The intro, an instrumental piece which I'm positive sampled off an oriental TV series soundtrack, started the album in the most traditional way, setting down a certain mood for the album. Then the album launched into the fast and soaring anthem that is the title track. Last Moment rocked with all epicness of Stratovarius; the solo, despite its slightly awkward transition, is the sort of proggy guitar - keyboard duel not quite unlike those of Symphony X. The following ballad Farewell saw their first attempt at an almost Nightwish-ish male-female duet. Dine in Hell and Immortal Kings speed things up again, both being fairly apt neoclassical old school Europower with quite the Rhapsody influence. Of course, we got to end with a ballad. You could almost say Warrior's Ballad is a track which followed the intro immediately, striking a near circle in terms of structure in melody. Still, I'd appreciate it if this hadn't bear such a resemblance to Stratovarius's famous pop song Forever. Last of all, we got a cover of Dragonforce's My Spirit Will Go On. Not the most common choice and I wish I could say they'd nailed it, but no, the drums are sluggish comparing to Dave's original works, which dragged down the whole dynamic of the song. Also, potent as he was, Xie Zhihen will never be the match of ZP. And I don't think there was such jingling of bells in the solos.

By all means this could pass off as solid Europower hailing from the golden days. Yes, the general mixing is a bit raw considering the time of the release. Yet it lacks no speed - the drums banged on. The riffs are crispy and almost Edguy-ish, though admittedly not as rough as per my usual preference. The neoclassical elements are tucked in most of the songs. And the solos, especially my favorite on Immortal Kings , are all fairly creative. The keyboards played their due role, taking a page out of Early Rhapsody's book. Now, obviously, the vocals here is their weaker points: Xie serves, but that's about as far as he goes - he needs more energy, which was especially shown on the two ballads, and the accent was weird as hell. I don't know who did the growling in Immortal Kings , but those sound thin as well.

Well, since metal development in China had always lagged 10 years in comparison to the western world, this could definitely be ranked amongst the second tier with the likes of Heavenly and Dragonland back in the second wave. And to be sure, this would probably be the best we'll get. So yeah, despite its length (or lack thereof), Final Victory is a solid debut and it will probably win the hearts of many Europower fans.

Highlights: 'Final Victory', 'Last Moment', 'Immortal Kings'

Rating: 8.7 out of 10

Review by Greg on July 10, 2023.

We've reached half of 2023, and I'm yet to stumble upon something able to rival Invicta's Triumph And Torment as my personal AOTY. I'll keep on waiting hopeful, but I don't think I'll tear my hair out if the situation won't change. The album was a huge discovery, nailing exactly the kind of sound I've been into in recent times. It took me some time to recall that it was actually the band's sophomore, so what's better than finding some more goodness with their debut Halls Of Extinction?

Looking back, the seeds of greatness were indeed already there. Unsurprisingly, like every time you make your way backwards through a discography, there isn't the same refinement and maturity you've been accustomed to, and you'll maybe find some missteps due to youth and lack of experience. That's Halls of Extinction at first glance. But the meat and potatoes of the album are made with the same, delicious recipe found on its sequel. Granted, for the standards of the group, opener 'Terminal Brutality' is akin to a grindcore track from the height of its three and a half minutes, and indeed acts as the short outburst of riff-heavy, blast-filled rage before the album passes through its actual best songs. 'Sacred Scourge' in particular sounds like it singlehandedly spawned the sophomore's 'The Apprentice of Death', with its effortless tempo changes, complete with fast/slow double chorus and simply jawdropping solos. 'Halls of Extinction' and 'Eye of Destruction' share a close second place, with the former falling short of being a total masterpiece for its slightly overlong coda, and both basically wiping out the majority of the scene. Axemen Kyle Edissi and Jonah Kay just have this particular knack for dropping those majestic, triumphant guitar lines below what's essentially a monotone voice and making the whole thing memorable.

That being said, this isn't a particularly easy album either, and the occasional misses might be longer than usual to get through. Especially the pair of 'Dark Side' and the vitriolic 'Infinite Aggression' goes on for almost a quarter-hour, but doesn't appear nearly as inspired as their peers, although, as you should guess by now, you can always count on some awesome shredding to cover it up at least partially (like 'None but Ash', in minor part, also does). Oh, but you shouldn't worry too much about not getting enough lead guitars, as the instrumental closer 'The Rapture' offers more than 9 minutes of them, summoning talents from Nile, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Stratovarius, Allegaeon, and Cathartic Demise alongside Invicta's very own duo. Are you salivating yet? You should. It's also an all-around great song, offering a killer acceleration around the 4:00 mark and a somewhat atmospheric section from 6:20 onwards, although self-indulgence is obviously the name of the game.

Now, think what you want about the huge personality the four guys exhibited on the sophomore, and double it down since they all were four years younger here (Edissi was not even 22). Halls of Extinction, and specifically songs like the title-track, 'Eye of Destruction' or 'Sacred Scourge', nicely prove that they didn't pull Triumph and Torment out of nowhere.

A new question emerges now: where the Hell did this come from then?

Rating: 8.4 out of 10