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Winter's Verge > Eternal Damnation > Reviews
Winter's Verge - Eternal Damnation

Worthy power metal - 76%

Vallomas, April 3rd, 2008

The characteristic logo by Limb Music on the cover was enough to clue me in on what Winter's Verge are about. The German label is renown for its dedication to europower (with a few exceptions, of course) so I can't say I was ecstatic over having to review this one since the genre isn't one of my favorites.

However when I started researching the band and found out that they come from Cyprus, my interest for this record returned. Besides Arryan Path and Armageddon, the latter of which never did it for me, I'm not aware of any other bands from Cyprus. I also found out that these cats drew the interest of mister Limb with a self-released album named "Another Life... Another End" back in 2006, so I was warming up to the possibility of this one being worthwhile.

And worthwhile it was. Nothing groundbreaking or extremely inspired, but "Eternal Damnation" is a notable record within the confines of its genre. In fact the music of our 'relatives' is not as completely... out-and-proud europower as the usual Limb Music fare. At times they remind of buddying greeks InnerWish (perhaps because the production was handled by Dimitris Liapakis) and their other influences are Stratovarious, Hammerfall and of course, Blind Guardian as one can hear from "Get Me Out" which is one of the standout tracks contained therein. If I had to mention a few more, it'd be for the more epic "Goodbye" and "To You I Sail Tonight" or "Spring of Life" with its excellent keyboard solo, the ballad "Can You Hear Me" with the atmospheric intro and lastly, "Eternal Damnation" which is probably the 'hit' of the album. Due congratulations go not only to the keyboardist of the band, but also the guitarist for his fluent work that never devolves to fret wankery. The singer also puts in a fine performance.

That's all well and good but you might find yourselves wondering "can yet another alright band playing europower really have a lasting impact on me?" And your doubts wouldn't be unfounded as - like I've already mentioned - Winter's Verge are not pretending to be flag-bearers of any revolutions here. Know however that "Eternal Damnation" is a worthwhile and well-crafted record which easily stands shoulder to shoulder with the relative and more well-exposed works in the same vein. If you are not troubled by issues such as the above, give Winter's Verge a chance, it's very probable you'll enjoy what they have to offer.

Originally written for http://www.electricrequiem.com