"Steel" is another word that in a band name almost always means power metal and that holds true for Germany's Steel Engraved. The band's third album, a self-titled effort, features the elements you've come to expect; clean singing, crunchy riffs, supporting keyboards, double-kick drums and melodies, melodies, melodies. There isn't a lot of coloring outside the lines for Steel Engraved, but this is a well-written and executed record. Highlights include some fantastically catchy vocal lines on "The Oppressed Will Fly" and the energetically pounding double-bass drums on "Nightwarriors". The rest of the songs follow time-honored power metal patterns and there isn't a bad one in the bunch, though you've heard similar sounding tracks before. Steel Engraved is a solid, entertaining album that should work quite well for fans of Axxis, Edguy, Victorius and the like.
