Debut album from Swedish heavy metallers Templar, who play leather-clad, mostly fast-paced heavy metal driven by double-bass grooves and good-to-great riffs that border on speed metal at times, wrapped in a retro-sounding production. This has all the fun and energy you'd expect, carried primarily by hooky riffs as heard on "Excalibur" and "Exiled in Fire." The drawback is inconsistent songwriting, with flatter tracks like "The Sorceress" and "Shipwreck" where neither the riffs nor vocal melodies particularly engage. Strong melodies are essential when your vocalist is as, uh, limited as Isak Neffling in range and pitch, though his style and hooks are a good fit on the stronger material — "Excalibur" and "White Wolf" in particular. Not bad, and another band to keep an eye on going forward.
