Germans and power metal – it’s just right. One thing I absolutely love about reviewing music is that I get exposed to bands I would otherwise never know. This is the case today as I take a look at the latest offering from Winterstorm. Cube of Infinity is their fourth album and it ticks all the glorious power metal boxes.

There’s an underlying tune that weaves itself throughout the album, holding it together and giving each song a sense of familiarity as it seeps through your mind. Each song takes its own direction, but they are a part of the whole. Beautiful orchestral pieces and choral harmonies juxtapose Alexander Schirmer’s gritty voice and the crashing solos of the guitars.

Quite frankly, you don’t hear enough piano in power metal these days!

Infectious kicks off the album with a gentle foreshadowing of what is coming and the beginning of the story. Many concept albums have a level of tackiness and a ‘here we go again’ feel to them. This is not the case here.

Pacts of Blood and Might – the hit for me. Great chorus, great guitars, quickly paced and just generally awesome. Sebastian Albrecht’s solid drums keep the pace and move the song along. Meaty riffs and duelling solos with a choral bridge before the sloooow chorus. Nice.

Schirmer’s vocals are coarse, but perfect. Thoroughly enjoyable. Everyone likes a key change, right?

In Clarity pares it back a bit with percussion at the forefront and simple guitar work… until the solos kick in. One of the few tracks where you can hear each individual instrument.

Secrets and Lies is slower and probably the low point for me. And by ‘low’ point, I mean the least awesome song on the album. Still a quality track with some great guitars. Enjoyable, but not as much as the rest.

Effects of Being brings back that familiar riff and progresses it. Slow, but always advancing. I can see this one lend itself to crowd participation. And I’ll be there, yelling with everyone else, if they ever tour Australia (please do).

Through the Storm – musical reprise! Solid track with great vocals, some horn work and piano! Onward!

Cube of Infinity… Pianos! Power Ballad! Every album has its ballad and here we are. At least it has a nice heavy section. Some fantastic solo work in here.

Frozen Awakening has some Arabian overtones, is slow and powerful with a catchy refrain I’ll be singing for a long time. Good solid background sound.

Timeshift has a dynamic sense of urgency with solid synth, drums and bass. Great solos and overall galloping guitar work. Piano finish!

Hymn of Solitude. Am I in a bar in the Wild West? The opening piano says I am, but it’s just the last song of the album. Great backing vocals in another crowd participation song that would end a live set well. Pretty enjoyable with the ever present solo work. It gets better every time I hear it.

Overall, I really enjoyed this album. Would I buy a patch? Yes. Yes I would. I’m off to check out the rest of their catalogue, but I’ll be visiting this album again soon. Great effort.

Cube of Infinity is out now – go buy it!