While it is one of the more enduring metal subgenres, power metal is also one of the hardest to pull off convincingly. Extravagance and bombast come with the territory, but go too far over the top and it becomes irritatingly egotistical - or worse, laughably camp. But Dungeon's second album 'A Rise To Power' is one of the best examples of sophisticated power metal I've heard for a while.

Dungeon play firmly in the European tradition of bands like Blind Guardian and Gamma Ray, and the striking, catchy songs that comprise 'A Rise To Power' put the band well on a par with their continental contemporaries.

From the slick production (courtesy of vocalist/guitarist Lord Tim) to the polished song writing, 'A Rise To Power' is an impressive album. All of the instrumentation is excellent, but the soaring, virtuosic vocals and the intricate, flashy guitar solos are the most memorable features of the album, with A Rise To Power and Netherlife (Black Roses Die) particular highlights.

Although it still definitely fits into the power metal category, Dungeon incorporate elements of other styles more frequently on 'A Rise To Power' than in their earlier work. These include thrash, melodic death metal and even some elements of glam (check out The Other Side for the glam-inspired backing vocals).

The latter part of the album particularly experiments with different approaches. Life Is Black, a mournful instrumental layered with transcendent soloing, provides a change in mood on the album. Traumatised, the final 'real' track is the most aggressive and chaotic song on 'A Rise To Power', with vocals that spit and snarl throughout the track. It is not as slick and glossy as the rest of the material on the album, and it does suffer a little for it. 'A Rise To Power' is finished off with two bonus tracks: covers of Iron Maiden's Wasted Years and Queensryche's Queen of the Reich. Neither are bad renditions, but they are largely unspectacular.

On the whole, 'A Rise To Power' is an extremely impressive and engaging album - and this is coming from someone who generally dislikes power metal. If you're a fan of the genre, it will blow you away.

Michelle Phillipov

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