Self-Release/Independent
2013
Varese, Lombardy-based My Refuge, which was formed in 2010 and now features Steel Violin vocalist Moz within it's ranks, first hit the scene with the EP "3407 - Picture of an August Night". That five-track release was issued the same year the band was formed, which is always rather convenient all around and a sure sign that a band knows what it's doing from the word go, and now, with a modified line-up in place, the band has issued this new four-track affair. Well, "now" might be a bit of a misleading term as this release came out in July of 2013, but it's new to me which makes it all the more relevant! With a line-up which also includes (dual) lead guitarists Mauro Paietta & Simone Dettore, bass guitarist Salvatore Chimenti and drummer Valerio Ferrari this Italian band seems posed for success is this short EP is anything to go by! With a full-length release due for later this year My Refuge, who mix in elements of traditional heavy metal, European-style power metal and progressive metal, cover a lot of ground here even if we are talking about a recording that is less then twenty minutes in length! No further proof is needed then opener "A Storm Is Coming", a cut in which the band takes on Blind Guardian/Stratovarius-style power metal in grand fashion, and "Empty Room (Acoustic Version)" which, as the title implies, is a stripped-down number featuring just Moz and an acoustic guitar. Stunning is a word I would use for the latter while the former, along with the gripping cut "The Cage (Oh Demon in My Eyes)", is a highly-stylized speed/power metal song! Meanwhile the four-minute plus title-cut is more straight-ahead heavy metal/power metal then both "A Storm Is Coming" and "The Cage (Oh Demon in My Eyes)" but it's just as effective giving the range of Moz and the talented work of Mauro Paietta and Simone Dettore. It will be interesting to see just what kind of magic this act can come up with for a full-length release, but for now this is a great way to become familiar with a band that I hope to hear plenty more from down the road!
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