Thomas Amoriello is a New Jersey based guitarist plying his trade in the power metal sphere; He released a self-titled LP a few years back and now he’s back in the saddle with a pretty satisfying collection of tracks entitled Phantom Sounds!

Musically, if you’ve ever had a bit of a thing for German guitarist Axel Rudi Pell‘s output, then you’ll absolutely love tracks like Haunted; Here, our hero unfurls an epic slab of traditional metal, skillfully observed right down to the heavily orchestrated keys that back Amoriello’s superb rifferama and topped with a feisty guest vocal performance from Titta Tani. Tani, who also fronts similar artists Arthur Falcone’ Stargazer (and there’s a clue in that name, right there!) and Shining Fury has the perfect voice for the job in hand, and his performance perfectly counterpoints that of Amoriello.

Amoriello has guest vocalists popping up everywhere – most notably Euro metal Titan Herbie Langhans, last seen around these parts in Steel Rhino, whose work on opening track Villain is as assured as you’d expect – but, and this is a tribute to the high quality of the material on offer on Phantom Sounds – this fact doesn’t affect the continuity or ‘flow’ of the album. Nothing sounds forced, much less wedged in for the sake of things, and this sleek sequencing and production really adds a lot to the listening experience.

Witching Hour Blues is probably the standout track here – if only because it deviates the track of the album away from power/trad metal for a while – with Tani starring again, supported by some superb keyboard work from DeadRisen‘s Anthony Stahl, although the amped-up Rainbow-as-a-Euro-power-metal-band madness of Mach 5 is going to appeal to a heck of a lot of people if I’m any sort of judge!

But whatever your particular preference, there’s going to be something you’ll enjoy on Phantom Sounds. It’s well worth a listen!

Phantom Sounds releases on March 15th.