Redivivus (DCA Recordings)
by Martin Popoff
Winter’s Bane is the band from which Ripper Owens rose, Ripper featured on the band’s classic ’93 Heart of a Killer, but not follow-up, Girth, on which leader/guitarist Lou St. Paul sung. Now back with a traditional and thespian Dickinson-like power metal vocalist in Alexander Koch, the band has adjusted as well, revisiting the dark, considerably heavy but still technical and old school power sound of the debut. In fact, Redivivus sort of stews in the cauldron containing Iced Earth, Eidolon, Beyond Fear, Nevermore, Evergrey, maybe even Crimson Glory, Cage, and Meliah Rage. Lou’s guitar sound is pulverizing yet classicist, and famed drummer Mark Cross (Metalium, Helloween) puts on a groovy but detailed clinic, even if his bass and snare drum sounds are a bit clacky. A swirling, rhythmic, grimly pure and dramatic metal experience is had, even if there’s a noisy looseness to this thing that sort of works and doesn’t.
(www.dcarecordings.com)