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A very overlooked album here by one of the scene's better players, the indelible Trapped In Anguish was the second release from German power crew Voice, after their progressive debut outing Prediction, and it saw the band kick up the speed a little, spicing their already compelling sound with bigger dollops of melody and a good sense for songwriting. The album fits well with what the scene was spitting out in 1999, being a light, elevating affair that sits somewhere between Helloween, Avantasia, and Mob Rules, with parts here and there suggesting more progressive influences.

Fronted by the wonderful Oliver Glas, Voice have a unique vocalist at the helm, whose style is much lower and more powerful that you'd usual find within the genre, having a Blaze Bayley-meets-Tobias Sammet-like wail that helps to cement those catchy choruses to your ears, without over doing the theatrics. The guitar work is stellar, with Thommy Neuhierl keeping things simple and foot-tapping, using the most of the Maiden-harmony template whilst still injecting enough intensity to keep your interest. The songs range from mid-paced growers (such as opener "No Way Out", which sounds like Vanden Plas covering Strato's "The Kiss Of Judas"), to fast, double-kicked belters. Of these, the best is the excellent "Twilight Dreams", an uplifting track of icy Power Metal complete with keys and backing choirs, and perhaps the best chorus on the album. Elsewhere, we have the atmospheric "The Silent Way" (which sets a perfectly cold atmosphere with its intro), "The Gunslinger" (another catchy speed metal tune), and the final highlight, "In The Night", which could have been a bonus cut on Gamma Ray's Powerplant.

If your poison is catchy Power Metal from the German school, this is an absolute must. With their later albums, Voice experimented more with the elements they explored here, but Trapped In Anguish is the peak of their creative endeavors, and a lost gem if I ever saw one.