Metalwings has a lot of refreshing things to offer to the fanciers of symphonic metal. First of all there is the voice of Stella, which is all but the opera-powerhouse of Simone Simons. She has a more subtle and softer sound to her voice, a voice we become acquainted with on the lovely overture ‘End Of The War’. when the first “real” song ‘Secret Town’ begins, I am hooked with the beautiful compositions of this band. The music is very rich, of course partly because of the many instruments. But not one second it is too much and I will not even call it bombastic, setting Metalwings apart from the big Dutch acts and Nightwish. On the song ‘Immortal Metal Wings’ the band seems to combine elements from those bands with the sound of acts like Symphony X and Evergrey. ‘When We Pray’ is the first ballad that I hear from this group, and that is a welcome meeting. Especially towards the ending, heavy guitars blend ingeniously with subtle piano and fragile vocals. ‘There’s No Time’ also brings Dream Theater to the influential front. The title track, which is also the stage for the video clip, starts in ballad-style but develops to a beautiful symphonic metal jewel of which this album contains so many. ‘Realm Of Dreams’ is the more direct sympho metal track that leans stronger towards a band like Nightwish.

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