Windrow - Trilogy (2007)

Tracklist:
01. Always In Silence
02. I Am The King
03. Tears Of Anger
04. Victory
05. Wings Of Fate
06. Fury Of The Will
07. Someone May Think We Are Losers
08. Golden Heart
09. The Hole
10. Eagle Fly Free (Helloween cover)
11. The Seventh Prophecy

Country: Italy
Genre: Power metal
Label: Self-released
Release date: June 3:d, 2007

Line-up:
Pino Chirico - vocals
Guiseppe Longo - guitars
Flavio Chichetti - guitars
Carlo Fantoni - bass
Ugo Montana - drums

Well, this is certainly a nice surprise! When people think of Italy and power metal, the band Rhapsody of Fire usually comes to mind. Other than that band, what usually plagues many groups from pastaland is lack of new ideas, poor production jobs and sub-par vocal abilities. Not so with Windrow, I am pleased to say. This quintet from Rome has released two albums prior to this, their third and latest one, aptly titled Trilogy. And let me tell you, it is a mighty fine album. For once, everything (mostly) is done right. Instrumentation is well executed, production is slick, but with enough crunch and power to not let this sink in the flood of "could-have-been-great-records-if-it-weren't-for-the-weak-sound". Also, vocalist Pino Chirico has one good set of pipes, which he demonstrates in the very first minute of the first song "Always In Silence".

Stylistically, this is power metal, mid- and uptempo, done without any real frills or "extras" to make it stand out, but it works anyway, since everything is done right, if you catch my drift. What's most important to me in a record are, and will always be, the songs themselves. If the tunes do not 'click' with me (which in general means being either catchy, anthemic or fast) I usually see no reason to continue listening. Windrow have some good tunes, however, which makes me want to go back and listen again. Examples of such songs would be the aforementioned "Always In Silence", "Victory" and "Fury Of The Will" that all contain elements of my preference.

Also included is a more than passable cover version of Helloween's "Eagle Fly Free". This song is my favorite tune of all time and all genres, so I wouldn't take a butchering of it lightly.

So Windrow may not be reinventing the weel, but they're making sure it runs smoothly, and sometimes that is just enough. Check out this talented band!

(originally published on Mostly Metal Reviews August 11:th, 2007)