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Hailing from Ireland, Old Season present a melodic, kind of atmospheric brand of Heavy Metal. The vocalist is a highlight here. Even though I'm not all that crazy about some of the vocal lines and the occasional same-y feeling that they convey, Frank Brennen (who also does some vocal work and guitars in Irish Doom band Mourning Beloveth) has a good set of pipes resulting in a powerful delivery from beginning to end. His style is quite dark and sorrowful, which accentuates the overall "unhappy" feeling of the music. At times I found he sounded a little bit like Bruce Dickinson on his mellower material.

The music is quite melodic, sometimes a little hard rock-ish but overall remaining on the metal side of the fence. A bit catchy despite the somber atmosphere that prevails, some of the melodies stuck in my head right after the first listen. This doesn't really remind me of any specific band, though parallels can be drawn with some of the more melodic and cleaner Heavy Metal acts of the mid to late 80s with a dose of modernity thrown in. There's nothing to make you go "fuck yeah!" here – the riffage is conservative but good enough to keep the interest up, and the solos are relatively sober but well done and well placed, just flowing along nicely. The album sometimes has a bit of an epic feel without quite getting there – it definitely has that "grand standing" sound style that keeps you entranced. If you're looking for some heavy, dark melodic metal, then Archaic Creation is a good bet.