Greek metal traditionalists Silent Winter don’t want to change the world. Rather, they want to recreate a portion of it’s history – specifically the years 1984 to 1989, by my reckoning – and they want to recreate it in minute detail…

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. When heavy metal is done well – and there are parts of Empire of Sins where it is done very well, let’s be very clear about that – it transcends time and space, setting the listener foursquare in a wonderful and frightening fantasy world, partly of their own making, partly the gift of the musician. I’m not sure why I’m telling you this – the fact that you’re reading Sentinel Daily means you already know it. But context is everything, and you need to know the context within which Silent Winter work in order to truly appreciate them.

Tracks like Dragons Dance and Mirror are delirious mashups of the best heavy metal had to offer in the mid eighties, a world where names like Metal Church and Helloween stood shoulder to shoulder against the world. It was a good time, to be sure, and, if you were there then, these tracks will take you right back. I can’t guarantee your hair will attain it’s old length and lustre, but you never know…

Standout track Empire of Sins adds a touch of classic Maiden (by way of Cirith Ungol) that the rest of the album sorely lacks, and Hunter’s Oath rounds out the recipe with a liberal dose of Manowar. Sounds tasty? Then dig in…

Of course, the world and his wife want to write and perform an album like this, but they don’t have the vocal secret weapon that is Mike Livas. Livas is one of those ‘sing the phonebook’ merchants, a man for whom no song need hold any fear whatsoever. He devours and spits out anything the band offer him up to sing, in one of the best performances I’ve heard from a heavy metal singer in many a moon – he’s one for the pantheon, this bloke, you mark my words… And he’s the ‘X’ factor that’ll help distance this band from the trad metal pack.

The rest of the band are no slouches, of course, as evinced on the metalised version of Belinda Carlisle‘s Leave A Light On included as a CD-only bonus track, but to all intents and purposes this is the Livas show. And what a show it is…

Empire of Sins Releases on March 26th.