Emerald Sun is a power metal band from Greece formed in 1998, releasing six albums to date – ‘The Story Begins’ (2005). ‘Escape From Twilight’ (2007), ‘Regeneration’ (2011), ‘Metal Dome’ (2015), ‘Under The Curse Of Silence’ (2018), and 2022’s ‘Kingdom Of Gods’.
Greek metallers Emerald Sun make their presence felt on the worldwide power metal scene with the release of a brand new album – ‘Kingdom Of Gods’. Ten songs clocking in at forty-five minutes, all bear the band’s signature sound – powerful, bombastic, and infectious. There are also moments of the epic and anthemic styles of metal too, the band blending various genres together to deliver a roller coaster ride full of twists and turns. Launching forth in a blaze of traditional power metal, ‘Book Of Genesis’ is a majestic swagger with a highly anthemic and chant style chorus – the kind of chorus that is gonna be lapped up by an in concert audience. The band power on at full tilt with ‘Heroes On The Rise’, a fast-paced and very infectious gallop of everything you’ve come to expect of European power metal. Emerald Sun has been around for over two decades, and have etched their name into metal history, powering forth with purpose and poise. Adopting a position between power and traditional metal, the band delivers ‘Hellbound’ at a head bangingly addictive pace, with a wonderful chant style chorus…
Co’mon everyone, all together now, “Hellbound, Hellbound.” Cracking stuff from a band firing on all cylinders.
Picking up the pace and stretching their legs, Emerald Sun deliver the fastest song heard so far – ‘Legions Of Doom’. The band changes down a gear for the chorus break, coming across as a hearty anthemic call to arms chant. One thing is for sure, these Greek metallers deliver some great sing-a-long style choruses – great for crowd participation. And isn’t that what’s great at a concert – participating with the band! Yea, ‘course it is. With no relaxing in pace and power, ‘Gaia (The End Of Innocence)’ storms on with a ballsy-ness not heard so far. A little heavier than anything heard previously, Emerald Sun maintains their penchant for infectious and catchy choruses, actually slowing the pace for this one. Awesome stuff. And with no warning, all pace is dropped for the title song ‘Kingdom Of Gods’, adopting a much more mid to slow-paced anthemic nature – a blend of British stalwarts Saxon and American legends Manowar. What a mix, what a song, and what a band Emerald Sun is. ‘Kingdom Of Gods’ (the song) is a definite highlight among many highlights the band’s sixth album has on offer.
With the title of ‘Raise Hell’, your expectation would be of an all-out, balls-out, fast-paced headbanger! And you wouldn’t be wrong – the band accelerating to a high pace. Heavy and head bang-able, ‘Raise Hell’ rockets on with determination and purpose, forcing heads to nod back and forth at a neck muscle ripping velocity! And whoa…a massive surge of the melodic descends on the album, ‘The Hunter’ taking a direction no other song on offer has taken – Emerald Sun bringing together the styles of hard rock, power, and traditional metal in one gloriously executed song. The band’s fan base will surely double when the worldwide audience of varying metal and rock tastes gets a load o’ this one! Continuing the recent genre border-hopping, ‘We Will Die On Our Feet’ swings around the three genres mentioned previously, but also adds a touch of the glory style of metal, especially across the chorus.
Emerald Sun a band not resting on their laurels, always looking to push the envelope and broaden their musical horizons – and limitations too!
Bringing the album to a close is the highly epic and atmospheric anthemic metaller ‘Where Warriors Belong’. Feel free to sway from side to side and raise your sword, ax, or whatever your weapon of choice is – for ‘Where Warriors Belong’ is a battle cry of sorts, a rabble-rouser to gather weary warriors together to pray for strength. An album ender that just demands a salute.
Overall, a pulsating power metal march, Emerald Sun delivers an infectious and addictive array of songs.
TRACKLIST
Book Of Genesis
Heroes on The Rise
Hellbound
Legions Of Doom
Gaia (The End Of Innocence)
Kingdom Of Gods
Raise Hell
The Hunter
We Will Die On Our Feet
Where Warriors Belong
Emerald Sun: Facebook
Release Year: 2022
Label: El Puerto Records
Category: Album
Country: Greece
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire, and Metal-Roos.
