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Geographically, this has been my highlight of the year. To my recollection, Armory is the only US metal band to actually rival their European counterparts in the game of Power Metal. Fast, symphonic, and melodic to the core, these guys make Cellador look like fucking Neanderthals. Having been around for a number of years, slogging their guts out to make their "Land of the Free", Armory seems to have succeeded in a respectful, minimal fashion. There is a huge German vibe to the band's re-recorded debut "The Dawn of Enlightenment", coming across like an amalgamation of "Keepers..." period Helloween, "Vain Glory Opera" era Edguy, and mid-to-late career Gamma Ray. Despite this, "The Dawn of Enlightenment" bares a strong resemblance to Celesty's "Reign of Elements", giving no credence to their American origin in the slightest.

Through a thin yet well mixed sound, Armory procure all the flashy guitar work of Hansen/Weikath and the Dickinson-esque wail from their musical idols before launching into a blast of speedy Power Metal anthems paying homage to their heroes more than creating something truly original. Being that this is more of a pastiche than a legitimate stab at the limelight, "The Dawn of Enlightenment" offers practically nothing new, with every drum beat, vocal line and scale run having blazed across the perforations of every metal record player in the world a million times before. Still, the galloping "Warrior Forlorn" and piercing opener "Faith In Steel" are prime-rib melodic Power Metal from the crystal fields of Atlantis and are actually better than most. A couple of albums down the line, and Armory could become major contenders in the field, but only more variation and perhaps a better production will shoot them to the stars. They have the potential. And at least they have no problems with pronunciation...