Sentinel Daily fans were introduced to Canadian chanteuse Leah – the metal Enya – via the gift of her 2019 Christmas album, Ancient Winter; In 2024 she’s back with The Glory and the Fallen, an altogether more representative representation of her undoubted talents.

Symphonic power metal with a Celtic tint is what you are in for should you choose to press play, and, whilst Leah isn’t really offering too much to set her apart from what is already a pretty big pack, she does what she does with a self-assured confidence that takes her music a long way. Harnessing the guitar talents of Carthagods/Delain/Vengeance alumnus Timo Somers is a masterstroke – some of his leadwork here is absolutely jaw-dropping – but the focus here is primarily on our eponymous heroine, and she acquits herself very well throughout.

Archangel and the ethereal standout track Victory show off Leah’s talents to best effect; She knows how to construct songs well, adding enough Celtic mystique to the basic symphonic stew to keep things moving along nicely, whilst always keeping her vocals far enough up in the mix to remind you who it is you’ve come to listen to. On tracks like closer Glow she sounds not so much like Enya as a beguiling mixture of Andrea Corr and Shania Twain which, – and please stay with me here – actually fits the music rather well. Rarely falling back on metallic screams or stepping outside her croon-based lane, her largely understated vocals counterpoint the fire of the Somers axe in a soothing, reassuring fashion that’s hard to resist.

The music here is of uniformly high standard, but at twelve tracks in length and with not much stylistic variation in play some uncommitted listeners may find the album dips a little in the middle; If, however, you count yourself as one of Leah’s growing legion of fans a dozen doses of Celtic fantasy metal probably won’t be enough – so fill your boots!

The Glory and the Fallen releases on February 16th.