VELVET THUNDER

Adamantis is an American power metal outfit from Massachusetts which formed in 2016 but went through a fair amount of tinkering before arriving at the line-up that recorded the spectacular Far Flung Realm in 2020. It only received a limited release but it did bring the album to the attention of Cruz Del Sur Music and they quickly realised they had a real gem in their hands and promptly gave the album a worldwide re-release in 2021. Far Flung Realm is an incredible fusion of NWOTHM and power metal giving it a European rock sound with influences ranging from Diamond Head and early Iron Maiden through to Edguy and Running Wild and is most highly recommended. The album was put together by an excellent team with Jeff Stark on vocals, Jeff Taft and Javier Estrada on guitars, Cody Pelchat on bass and Evgeny Gromovoy on drums and what a great unit they made.

The band has now followed this up with this very ambitious EP which sees the band retaining the traditional metal side of their music but there is definitely a stronger power metal edge to the sound which also includes straying into symphonic territory too. All vocals and music were recorded by the band as listed above but shortly afterwards both Cody Pelchat and Jeff Taft left the band to focus on other projects with guitarist Teddy Shao being brought in as a replacement for Taft but no mention of a new bassist yet.

The EP features four new songs with the first three being the usual power metal epics although Dark Moon Goddess does have a folk/Celtic flavour with gives the band another dimension to play with but the real monster track is the closing The Daemon’s Strain which is based on an old, obscure and anonymous English poem, House Carpenter, and clocks in at an impressive 13-minutes giving the band scope to fully develop the themes within the poem which deals with the Devil seducing a married woman and thus taking her to the very depths of hell. The band have added their own narrative to the tale so that this may become their signature song as did Iron Maiden with the sublime Rime Of The Ancient Mariner! A true epic in every respect, the track features the usual wailing guitars plus a sobering Celtic influence that adds gravitas and there is a wonderful but uncredited female vocal and her combination with Jeff Stark is a real revelation.

If you love your power metal with a difference then there is much here to love with Adamantis being very much on an upward curve and I eagerly look forward to their next full album.