Stormhunter - Best Before: Death (2024)

★★★★

Their first release since 2014’s An Eye for an I, Stormhunter definitely had time to put in the proper effort in making a solid and memorable modern European power metal record. Is it wholly unique? No, but it also isn’t trying to be. Pretty much every melody and riff has been exhausted by EUPM bands since the mid-90s, so at this point, Stormhunter is just trying to write decent tunes… and that they do. While the album is cushioned by instrumental opening and closing tracks, the real meat of this record lies between “Nightmare” and “Berceau de l'enfer” (odd to see a German band sing a song completely in French, no?). This run of tracks is just fantastic, with massive choruses, jumpy and speedy riffing, and of course the mighty melodic guitar solo to round everything out. At its core, it’s a predictable but well-crafted album, and after ten years of inactivity, I wasn’t sure this new record would be any good. To my surprise, it’s quite nice and for anyone interested in EUPM, I urge you to give this one a listen.

FAVORITE TRACKS: "Nightmare," "Empty Shell," "Vagabond," "Berceau de l'enfer"

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Originally published in March '24 (Issue No. 2)