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ECHOSOUL - “Time Of The Dragon”
ECHOSOUL - “Time Of The Dragon”
by Mercyful Mike
The world of power metal can be very multifaceted, but also incredibly saturated. For this reason, any band brave enough to dip their toes into this pool needs to bring something unique to stay afloat. Luckily for Indiana’s ECHOSOUL, they accomplish this quite well on “Time Of The Dragon.”
Before giving this new release a proper critique, I jumped back to debut “The End Of Darkness” to set up a bit of a baseline. The debut clearly offers up a healthy slab of metal, but to be fair, it didn’t exactly make a case for many revisits. Not a slight to the band- everyone has a starting point. So, I really was hoping to hear some progress made on “Time Of The Dragon”, and I’m happy to say, progress was delivered.
Right out of the gate, ECHOSOUL cranks the aggression up to 11. “Prologue” sets the stage, and the mighty title track hits the gas and off we go. “Path Of The Righteous” starts off somber enough, but immediately becomes a beast, full of melody and soaring guitars. By the time “Hallowed Ground” reveals itself, it hits me that there are many parallels between ECHOSOUL and Ohio’s SHATTER MESSIAH: superb, progressive compositions dripping in melody yet beautifully aggressive. ECHOSOUL definitely levels up between the two in terms of keeping melody intact throughout the album.
“Die Demon Die” is the crown jewel of “Time Of The Dragon”. Damn near a full-blown thrash anthem, this track in particular ebbs and flows in tempo, taking the listener on a real journey. Vocalist Rob Lundgren absolutely shines here, executing his delivery in a way that will have pros turning their heads in admiration… and possibly fear.
One thing I will say, and I don’t mean this in any way to be negative, is that ECHOSOUL should rethink special guest slots on their next album. As in… DON’T DO IT. Ripper Owens guested on the debut, and Andy LaRocque, among others, were featured on “Dragon”. I see a lot of this from new bands these days- hiring a special guest in hopes of getting more eyes on the hype stickers and increasing the odds of a purchase. At some point, however, you need to stand on your own merits. I firmly believe ECHOSOUL should keep this in mind for album #3. They’ve proven they have the chops, so time to put it all out there. Momentum is on their side.
No sophomore curse for ECHOSOUL. “Time Of The Dragon” is exceptional, and poises the band to reach new heights.
9/10
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