Крылья / Wings - В Краю Потерянных Душ / At The Edge Of Lost Souls (2009) - Very solid old school heavy metal from Ukraine - 78% (11/03/12)

Крылья which means Wings in English are a solid traditional heavy metal band from Ukraine that make me think a lot of the Russian heavy metal legend Aria. Especially the vocals sound a lot like Aria while the song material sometimes has more of a thrash or groove vibe as in the progressive and stunningly diversified album highlight “Чёрная Ложь” that contains three different kind of vocal performances that fit very well together or also in the epic “Apeнa” that features an incredible wild guitar solo in the energizing middle part.

The sound of the record is rather raw or somewhat limited due financial reasons. It fits to the cool cover artwork but while the whole album has an addicting old school vibe, the drums sound rather tinny and don’t fit to the classic metal corsage. The vocals are though crystal clear, the guitars sound also beautiful, especially in the calmer and emotional passages as in the middle part of “Вызов Небесам” that varies from addicting and controlled melodies to awkward solo duels in only four minutes. The bass is also audible but could take more place next to the strong guitars as it does in the band hymn “Крылья » that could directly come from a heavy metal record from the eighties.

In fact, the album has the flaw that some tracks really sound too close to the well known bands of that style and especially Aria. The band has not yet the uniqueness to create an outstanding sound. The technical skills are definitely there but the creativity is not. That’s why this album is enjoyable to listen to but has a rather old fashioned style. As it is often the case, the most essential track is the great epic album closer that shows us everything classic heavy metal is about in ten powerful minutes. It’s surely not the most innovating and refreshing kind of song but anybody that has heavy metal music in his butt simply has to like this track as most of the heroes from the past haven’t written this kind of songs in decades.

In the end, this is a very good record if you have a nostalgic vein and look for music in the key of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal and the bands that have been influenced by this artistic and cultural movement. Instead of spinning the old Aria, Diamond Head and Iron Maiden record over and over again, you could grab this exotic gimmick instead and get some solid new old stuff.