• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Rising Symphony is the sixth and, as of this writing, final album from Sweden's Stormwind and the third in a series of reissues from Massacre Records, the label that put this one out originally in 2003. I liked the first two reissues (Reflections, Resurrection) and their turn-of-the-millennium power metal has held up well. Rising Symphony possesses a lot of the same qualities; double-kick drums, major chord riffing and catchy choruses. Tracks like "Rising Symphony", "Touch the Flams" and "Excalibur" are solid power metal tunes, perhaps not the cream of the crop but infinitely listenable. Where this album differs and suffers, is the ballads, "River of Love" and "Streets of Prishtine." These were clearly written with the intention of getting some kind of a "hit" by appealing to casual rock fans and sound like they might have come from a mid-80s Whitesnake album. Fine, if you like that sort of music, but I'd rather hear "Is This Love" than either of these pale imitations. Rising Symphony has some good songs, but its inconsistency puts it a notch below Reflections and Resurrection in my book.