Band:	Axenstar
Album:	Perpetual Twilight
Style:	Power metal
Release date:	2002
A review by:	Malcolm

01. All I Could Ever Be
02. The Cross We Bear
03. King Of Tragedy
04. Scars
05. Enchantment
06. New Revelations
07. Secrets Revealed
08. Confess Thy Sins
09. Evil Glorified [bonus]
10. Perpetual Twilight

These guys hail from my country, Sweden, and I'm damn proud of that.
Sorry for that, but it's just like this, every time a good band comes from Sweden I get so proud to be Swedish. And this is one of those moments, when the Swedish band "Axenstar" released their debut album "Perpetual Twilight" last year.
But I must say that I didn't like it from the beginning, it was a album that had to grow into me, and now, when it have grown, I love it, it's a damn good album, and I'm proud of being Swedish.

So what do you have to expect of this five-piece band, from the city of the cucumber (Yes, it's true, Västerås is called that).
Well, it's not the usual kind of Power Metal, that's for sure; it's a rougher kind, and not the usual Falsetto vocals either.
No, this is a harder kind of Power Metal, Real Power. And the vocals is a bit low on this one, unfortunately, but great, I'm promise you that you haven't heard vocals like this before.

"Axenstar" was created in 1998 under the name "Powerage", it was formed by Peter Johansson (Guitar) and Magnus Ek (Bass), back then they was a Metal cover band.
March 2001 they became "Axenstar" and they singed with Arise Records in February 2002 and this album was released in October 2002.
They popularity is growing fast and they get more and more admitted as a eccentric Power Metal band.

This debut is containing nine great songs, yes, this is a solid album, and the songs is following each other, but some of them is somehow better than others, songs like "The Cross We Bare", which is the best track on the album, but that's just my opinion, I guess that this will change from person to person.
The whole album is great done, it's not sounding like a debut, it's to professional done.

"Axenstar" have done something that many Melodic Speed Metal band don't do today, they use keyboard in a way that it's not too much. I know many of you don't like bands like "Sonata Arctica" and "Stratovarius" just because of that, but check "Axenstar" up; you'll get the dose you'll need. They will show you that Good and eccentric Power Metal exists even today.
I really looking forward to the successor to this one, and I hope that they will go on in the same spirit as this one that would do me really proud.

And the cover is another great thing, it's a real beauty made by Mr. Travis Smith.

Killing Songs: "The Cross We Bare" is THE one, for me. "Scars", King of Tragedy" & "New Revelations", but all is good.