Band:	Last Empire
Album:	Last Empire
Style:	Progressive power metal
Release date:	August 2003

01. Trilogy Of The Unicorn (Pt.1)
02. Trilogy Of The Unicorn (Pt.2)
03. Trilogy Of The Unicorn (Pt.3)
04. Fall From Grace
05. Wings Of Dragons
06. Gods Of Fire And Steel
07. Stormbringer
08. Dark Queen

Dragophilia takes a hold of North America

A dragon in the cover art with a warrior stabbing a sword in the dragon's neck? Songs called "Trilogy Of The Unicorn", "Gods Of Fire And Steel" and "Wings Of Dragons"? Fuck? Power Metal again.

Yep, I got hold of this Power Metal outfit from the United States, and I must say that my ever-growing dislike for the genre is gettin' bigger very day, each time I listen one of these newbies trying to imitate Stratovarius, Helloween or Rhapsody I say to myself... why lord don't people come up with their own ideas? What's the fascination with dragons and magical empires?

I won't comment a word on the cover art, I think you might know what I think by now. Musically, well you don't get much innovation in this genre, so you know pretty much what to expect:

Falsettos
Double bass drums
Cheesy lines
"Epic" passages
"Heroic" solos

Maybe the only innovation was the use of harsh vocals (and is not that innovative, a lot of Power Metal bands are doing that know), anyway, "Fall From Grace" is the song that uses harsh vocals more than any, and it even has a doomy feel, slow and pounding at the beginning, quite entertaining for a while.

The rest of the album, well, it was quite bad, vocals are out of range, production leaves much to desire and songs are quite repetitive and boring. I don't know what these guys were thinking when recoding a product filled to the brim with musical and visual clichés.

I won't fill my mouth with diatribes and euphemisms for this band, I just said what I think, and I bet if you get this album you'll listen exactly what I listened, bad-produced Power Metal with a touch of aggression. The result? A dragon soup with side dish of charred warrior. For dessert, we have soufflé of clichés. Enjoy!