Forgotten Gems: Timeless Hall

Self-Release
1994


Interesting story about this particular album. I originally had ordered a different CD from a secondary seller on Amazon. After not receiving the disk and putting up with e-mail after e-mail to the seller I finally received a refund. As a means of making it up to me (and to avoid my inevitable nasty feedback) the seller offered to send me another CD of my choice for free from his store. Sure, why not I figured. So, after sorting through page after page of awful modern metal and nu metal releases I can across the Steel Legacy Records re-issue of this self-titled 1994 album. Having read up a bit on this Danish band I decided to roll the dice and hope for the best. Formed in 1994 this Danish heavy metal band featured American vocalist Andrew "Drew" David Heart and managed to have their self-release co-produced by Michael Denner of Mercyful Fate. Their sound recalls classic Queensrÿche at times as well as the melodic power metal of groups like Helloween. In fact those lead vocals almost sound like Geoff Tate mixed with Michael Kiske. Snagging an American on vocals ended up being a smart move for this young band as the end result is a solid melodic power metal/progressive metal release. The copy I got was from Steel Legacy Records (re-issued in 2010) and contained 3 bonus tracks (the three tracks are from the 1996 "True Love" single) and came with new cover artwork. The band did eventually morph into another outfit called Breed although from what I have read the end result wasn't as good as this album. Really classic heavy metal fans and fans of melodic infused progressive power metal would do well to seek out this rare release. The band's sound is tight and their music is both melodic and powerful. Sometimes not getting what you wanted the first time around can result in surprising treasures.