Ashes of Eden

I once heard someone say I should avoid this like the plague, but I was more intrigued by that than the prospect of a good record, so I bought it anyway and immediately agreed with his analysis. Suffice to say, it has sat on my shelves for well over six years and I've listened to it once or twice, mostly regretting it. It's not that the second album from US wannabes Total Eclipse is such a bad record I can't stand to hear it (that's about as much of a compliment as you're getting, fellas), it's just a hackneyed attempt that should have never ever made it onto Limb's roster. And yet despite being produced by genre veterans Uwe Lulis and Piet Sileck, it just reinforces that old axiom, you can polish a turd all you want; it will still look like shit.

Sounding like an uninspiring combination of Steel Prophet, Gamma Ray, and Brocas Helm, Total Eclipse hammer away their bland Power Metal blend with very little enthusiasm. Sure, the double kicks are there, which keeps this thing in place, but the guitars fall over each other like a couple of drunks and the vocals are boring yelps and croons that are all the same color. He wants to be James Rivera, I'm sure, but Rivera would shit rivets all over this guy. There is something so girly about this, and perhaps it's a subliminal thing. I mean, what kind of metal band has pink cover art, I ask ya?

In all fairness, you could get away with Ashes Of Eden if you're an ultimate Power Metal aficionado, because in spite of its overall crummy run time there are some cool riffs here and there, but opener "Storm Warning" is all you get in terms of semi-quality. You'd be better off trying something by Montany, Casus Belli, or Rising Faith, Limb bands that only came once but at least shot their wad with some gusto.