Review by Lynxie on June 1, 2022.

Standing from a Freedom Call fangirl's point of view, Mornings Dwell's latest release actually makes a vaguely disturbing listen - this sounds just like Freedom Call pre - "Circle Of Life" era. I'm starting to think if they'd had Chris Bay for the vocals this would make a fair enough Freedom Call substitute.

We always call European power metal fast and melodic, and that's precisely what this album sounds like. First you get 'The Chosen Champion', a track that just screams Stratovarius with its chugging riffs. And then, opening with the insanely upbeat and catchy chorus, there is 'Wandering Man', a soaring anthem following the formula of 'High Up' and 'Farewell'. Their rhythm section and the even more upbeat orchestration on 'Behind The Gate' and 'Book Of Damnation' just remind me more of Freedom Call. Surely other bands have no business being this happy. And to be honest, I still think the riff in 'Change' is a 'Warriors' rip-off. Besides, the arrangement of a heavy and banging bridge before the bright and happy solo sounds rather like a structure Freedom Call would adapt on many of their songs, particularly on their legendary debut, no?

Barring the vaguely disturbing resemblance, this is most certainly a solid EUPM release. The vocalist Petter Hjerpe falls more on the generic side, with the normal Kiske energy plus a lisp of Timo Koltipelto and some of Tobias Sammet's more raspy quality. Nearly every tune here screams happiness, yet the heaviness was never wholly lost, the guitar always more dominating than the orchestration. The bass is mixed pretty forward too. In fact, I noted its chugging presence in pretty much every song. The chorus is all catchy and brainwashing as hell. The group vocals define perfectly the meaning of glory and unity. And the drums raced on with full Ingo Schwichtenberg energy. Bonus points, no soppy power metal ballads, though the last bit of The Power Will Go On did go slower and more ballad-ish. I suspect this part will be fun enough to sing along to when played live. Besides, 37 minutes is probably the perfect length. If this record gets any longer with this much happiness it would be a drag.

So this may be the closest to a Freedom Call parody I’ve ever heard these days, but I'm content - it's almost a bit like the continuation of Eternity we never got.

Highlights: 'Wandering Man', 'Change', 'The Power Will Go On'

Rating: 8.7 out of 10