After all that galivanting about old records and esoteric undercurrents, it’s time to speed our metal up once more. Power Metal is on the menu, and it’s the Italian kind that took our fancy this time. And methinks they make them en masse over there, furnished ready to go with some built-in stereotypes already blearing. Fast, furious, but also easily recognizable.
Elettra Storm is the band’s name, and their 2024 record, Powerlords, must have sailed right past our review pipe. The act seems to be in a rush, too. They came into being in 2023, and already Evertale, their sophomore piece, is loudly touted in the Italian market squares. Being hungry and ready to roar is one thing. But great compositions need time and careful prep, so let’s hope this year’s concoction will cut the mustard and not just scrape along the bottom of the barrel. To noize or not to noize, that is the question.
Evertale, for sure, sports a boatload of typical Southern European Power Metal. And right off the bat, one cannot deny some (rather close) proximity to the flamboyant Frozen Crown with a few whiffs of Temperance to boot. Let Blue Phoenix be my witness, like. And that means, high-speed fare with a melodic fetish to boot, fueled by F1-grade1 octane and equally high-pitched female vocals in tandem with Crystal Emiliani‘s male counterpart. Plus, the poor drummer doing a friggin’ marathon every time the band decides to start the title track.
The appetizer, Endgame, neatly shows where Elettra Storm are taking Evertale. And yet, the first track already saddles us with these uneasy vibes of mainstream Pop Metal in cahoots with the usual Power Metal vibes. Said differently, get any closer to those Amaranthe-esque vibes and Olof Mörck will join you.2 And then what? To their defense, this track features a neat little breakdown into metalcore lore with some Gojira-esque vibes following this stunt. Elettra Storm have it in them if they set their mind on ramping up the amps.
The Secrets of the Universe follows smartly with some typical high-speed fare. Reasonably melodic, this track shines with some pretty remarkable shredding and soloing. So, as can openers go, these first two tracks ain’t faring too badly. And it is only after a few listens that Blue Phoenix really started to shine. This one is a neatly balanced, next-level Power Metal piece that really is tailor-made to suit Emiliani‘s impressive set of pipes. Albeit that it often leans a tad too much into Heavy Metal’s gallop. But that’s small potatoes in the grander scheme of things. And why am I not surprised that this track is featured in a video as well?
What else? Evertale also features a slow-motion track. One Last Ray of Light ain’t your usual cheese pot surrounded with pink candles, though. Instead, the band produced a true power ballad, the way this should be done. And one cannot but notice that once the band writes a song catering to their vocalist’s many talents, things move up the ladder a few rungs. Towards the light at the end of the tunnel, where great Power Metal dwells. The rest of the tracks kinda sit in that safe zone that will please many a PM fan, but not the more demanding metalheads. And that’s a pity.
You know, the RMR crew found some stellar Power Metal material this year. Crafted by true and tested old ‘n’ grizzled warhorses and delivered with gusto. Evertale is – sadly – a gazillion miles of rough cheese road away from that type of performance. Unfortunately, they chose to remain straight with the pack of middle-o’-the-road power metallers and not venture out onto that ridge where danger and excitement are real and exist all at the same time. The band sports enough talent to produce some stellar metal. But for this to happen, they need to step out of their sugary sweet, cheese-lined sanctuary straight into the wild and start rocking for real.
Record Rating: 6/10 | Label: Scarlet Records | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 24 October 2025