Much like folk metal, the incredibly bombastic world of power metal has been one that I’ve always skimmed the surface but almost never really dive into the style to see what all it has to offer. Sure, acts like HammerFall and DragonForce still astound me to this day, but recently I’ve been craving some younger bands that are helping the future of power metal stay strong. Just when I felt I was never going to find something, Winter’s Edge found me and their variety of power isn’t the most delicious I’ve heard, but it’s nonetheless entertaining.

The many tropes of power metal can be seen as a coin in a way with one side showing us that the classic tropes can be used as a strength that helps a band push forward as they embrace the ideals wholly and thus can create something awesome. On the other hand, it can make an act sound incredibly boring and down-right generic. That’s something that has been a recurring theme for me, and I felt for a minute that I was running into the same thing with Winter’s Edge. But pressing on through “The Guardians of Our Time Pt. 1”, these warriors from the UK showed their worth in spades as we’re treated to a real tour de force of power metal that only the really massive bands of the genre can produce, and even then it’s delivered inconsistently. Winter’s Edge brings to the table a terrific sense of pacing, a punch that isn’t the sort of thing you can brush off and even then “The Guardians of Our Time” continues to delivering one whallop after another, and tremendous instrumentation that manages to elevate this record to another level that honestly would’ve made me lose my interest in the album without it. It’s the instruments and the stunning harmony that makes “The Guardians of Our Time” such a joy to listen to for me, and everything else on top of it is just the icing on the cake.

Power metal has long been a style that I’ve been on and off about, but acts like Winter’s Edge are what keep me interested and crawling back. With Part 2 not too far off with a release in November, any fan of power metal is sure to find a hell of a good time within the content that “The Guardians of Our Time Pt 1” is more than happy to boast.

“The Guardians of Our Time Pt. 1” releases on August 17th!

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