Armory-The dawn of enlightenment

Self-produced
2007

For some reason when it comes to progressive metal I can normally tell if I will like a band or not about a minute into the opening tracks. I am not certain if that it fair or logical, but for some reason it does seem to hold true for me. So a little over a minute into the opening track I was sure that this was going to be a good one and indeed it is. Armory hail from Townsend, Massachusetts and play a style of power metal that is generally associated more with European bands. It doesn't matter where they are from because what matters is they know to construct and execute some finely crafted songs that are smoothly melodic when they need to be and pounding and heavy when need be as well. Perhaps the most noticeable strength of this band is their ability to effortlessly change the pace and switch from heavy to melodic with equal amounts of skill and confidence. These guys obviously learned their metal licks from the legends like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest as well as soaking in the material from power metal gods like Helloween and Gamma Ray. I think the foundation in classic metal bands they have has helped to give them a more solid metal basis on which to work. It's been far too often that I have heard a power metal band just take off with soaring melodies going all over the place, but it doesn't work because their is just not enough solid metal behind it. Armory are the kind of band that could draw in fans of both progressive metal and classic style metal because they draw on both styles fairly evenly and make it work. "The dawn of enlightenment" had me hooked from the word go and the entire album pulled me along through the many musical passages that they explored on this release. My only complaint might be that the vocals were a little low in the mix at times. Definitely an album worth seeking and checking out.

http://www.myspace.com/armorymetal