Stygian Steel hail from Norway, and this is their only release so far. I keep finding these little gems of epic heavy metal, so let's keep these coming, metal scene! It's my favorite kind of traditional heavy metal. Stygian Steel features engaging songwriting and folk-like vocal melodies combining to form grandiose epics. I can hear some influence from Bathory's Viking albums, Manilla Road, Solstice (UK), and perhaps Borknagar. The vocals, while not flashy, really grow on you the more you listen to the record - the singer's rather flat style is endearing in the same way Ozzy's was. The drummer plays his ass off, and he's got plenty of room to do so, with big open riffs giving him the opportunity to really go around his kit in entertaining ways. The guitar solos are fantastic, going big every time to add to the epic feel of every song. They also experiment with some different sonic textures here and there, whether guitar effect or synth, which really adds to the atmosphere of the record. This is a top notch epic metal record, and it ranks up there with the best the genre has to offer. I'm a huge fan already!