Year : 2026
Style : Epic Power Metal
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + front
Size : 112 mb
Bio:
Epic power metal band from Mechanicsville, Maryland,US formed in 2002.Not to be confused with Eternal Winter from Pennsylvania.Hailed as the True Knights of Metal, Eternal Winter have been gracing the underground with their unique brand of epic power metal since 2002. Led by vocalist/songwriter Matthew Knight and specializing in conceptual albums based on heroic fantasy, sword and sorcery, and esotericism, Eternal Winter's music ranges from melodic and progressive to dark, savage and heavy.
Album:
3th full-length album.Americans ETERNAL WINTER belong to a category of groups that I always approach with mixed expectations.You see, they are one of those bands whose members do not simply write songs within a specific genre, but seem to fully immerse themselves in the entire world that genre promotes. Two of the three members, guitarist-bassist-keyboardist-vocalist and overall band leader Matthew Knight and fellow guitarist Peter Salatellis, identify not only as musicians but also as writers of heroic fantasy! Meanwhile, their drummer, Matt Brookins, spent years as an administrator on the official forum of DREAM THEATER! We are talking about people who are clearly devoted fans of melodic Metal in general and its epic Power Metal expression in particular. Sometimes this passion can provide momentum towards the right direction, but more often I have noticed that it leads to a somewhat distorted perspective of the creator toward their own work, occasionally resulting in a complete inability to recognize its flaws. I suspect you have already guessed that “Cosmic Blood, Cosmic Grail” falls into the latter category.ETERNAL WINTER are not bad musicians. Throughout their latest album, there are moments filled with good ideas, melodic passages that capture the listener’s attention, and a fairly tight and solid rhythm section. The problem is that the compositions as a whole sound disconnected. The impression is that ideas simply emerged during jam sessions and, whenever something sounded good, it was kept exactly as it was, without considering whether the end result formed a cohesive song. Especially during the first half of the album, after a certain point I could barely tell which track I was listening to, as every song seemed to transform into two or three different ones before reaching its conclusion. From the middle of the album onward, things improve somewhat and the material feels more cohesive. In reality, however, what happens is that our friends from Maryland simply spend a little more time developing their stronger ideas. It is genuinely unfortunate that the band appears unable to recognize how it undermines its own songs, which could have been significantly better if the members did not believe that every single idea deserved inclusion.I cannot resist making a special mention of the vocals. From a strictly technical standpoint, Matthew Knight is not a bad Power Metal singer. However, he manages to become rather irritating as the album progresses. At his best, he sounds like a vocal doppelgänger of Tobias Sammet from AVANTASIA, which I certainly do not consider a negative trait. The issue is that, instead of relying on this naturally fitting vocal tone, he seems to believe that the more Heavy Metal screams a song contains, the better it becomes. As a result, we hear numerous screams in places where they feel completely out of place and have very little connection to what the rest of the band is playing. Combined with the mix, which places the vocals significantly higher than the instruments, the overall listening experience quickly becomes tiring.As I said, ETERNAL WINTER are capable musicians and they know how to come up with good ideas. Their weakness lies in combining those ideas in a way that produces something truly compelling and in exercising enough self-control to stop when necessary. Sometimes it is beneficial to take a few steps back and examine our work from a distance, considering how it will be perceived by someone who does not live inside our own head. Perhaps those who are deeply immersed in Power Metal will appreciate “Cosmic Blood, Cosmic Grail” more than I do. Personally, however, I cannot recommend it to a fan of the genre looking for their next worthwhile investment of time and money. I am giving it a passing grade solely because there are genuinely good moments buried beneath all this chaos.
Line-Up:
Matthew Knight - Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards (2002-present) - See also: Cauldron Born
Peter Salatellis - Guitars (2025-present) - See also: Bloodstone, ex-Divine Bloodline
Matt Brookins - Drums - See also: ex-Odin's Court
+ guests:
Keith Moye – Piano, Keyboards and Synths on "When the Stars Invert"
Susan Jones Knight – Voice of Sera’Xus on "The Temple of Abraxas
Production:
Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards, etc. recorded at Castle Shadowgate Studio by Matthew Knight, Drums and additional Synths recorded by Matt Brookins at D2C Studios, Mixed and Engineered by Matthew Knight at Castle Shadowgate Studio, Mastered by Sebastian “Seeb” Levermann at Greenman Studios, Album cover painting by Bebeto Deroz
All Songs, Music and Lyrics except for "When the Stars Invert" were written and arranged by Matthew Knight, Published and Copyrighted by True Knight Metal Productions BMI. All Rights Reserved.
Music for "When the Stars Invert" by Matthew Knight and Keith Moye, Lyrics by Matthew Knight. Published and Copyrighted by True Knight Metal Productions BMI. All Rights Reserved.
The Copyright in these sound recordings is owned by Matthew Knight.
Tracklist:
01. Initiation 06:08
02. Templum Esoterika 05:10
03. Ancient Rite of Death and Honor 06:16
04. Cosmic Blood, Cosmic Grail 04:13
05. When the Stars Invert 05:54
06. Labyrinthine Eyes 05:14
07. The Accursed Bridge 00:41 instrumental
08. Sisters of the Moon Wolves 06:03
09. Song of the Sworn Blade 05:08
10. The Temple of Abraxas 04:17
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
