Winterlong Valley Of The Lost CD - Import

VALLEY OF THE LOST is a 10-song CD from Swedish power metal band Winterlong.

Winterlong comes across more or less as a mix of bands such as Helloween and Iron Maiden. However, there are other elements here. In fact, some tracks call to mind Judas Priest. The music here is fast and technical, but still has an emotion and feeling to it. In other words, it does not come across as sterile. Indeed, this really does come across as quite inspired and original progressive metal while still giving the nod to other groups as influences. In typical proto prog metal fashion, the music is all over the place, encompassing lots of interesting changes. The group comes across on this release as quite polished, and the album seems well thought out. They even include some pure progressive rock sections and a killer acoustic guitar dominated intro (not metal style, but more progressive rock-oriented) for good measure. If they can garner enough attention, they should acquire a strong following. ~ Gary Hill

Valley Of The Lost is the ultimate album from north Sweden's Winterlong, with a new fresh sound like the biggest storm. With a bass like thunder (Erik Tomberg), drums of doom (Toni Erkkila), fast riffs (Thorbjorn Englund) and roaring vocals (Hussni Morsare), the warriors of Winterlong now stand in arms. Guitarist Englund was inspired by Malmsteen, but has also sought inspiration outside the guitar music genre, such as through violin music, and even folk music. And when Englund discovered Vanessa MaeĀ“s astonishing classical work there was just another push into the classical direction. Valley Of The Lost should definitely be the wake-up-call for the next generation of true metal warriors.