From Ancient Spirit:
Fantastic, epic metal with strong, deep vocals and smoking-hot riffs and several changes of tempo.
Somehow this reminds me of the first two pieces of classic-ICED EARTH “Iced Earth” & “Night Of The Stormrider” especially when it comes to the killer riff bombardment.
Vocally, it lies somewhere between JD Kimball (OMEN) and Mike Scalzi (SLOUGH FEG).
Read the entire review here.
From Zware Metalen:
[Translated from Dutch]
Much attention has been paid to the compositions [on Gather, Darkness!], which are strong and are supported by excellent guitar riffs that are greatly influenced by Iron Maiden. In Man Or Myth even progressive influences are discernible which makes for a pleasant change. The subsequent Cast Them Down sounds quite a bit like Iced Earth. Anyway, this album contains the necessary U.S. metal influences which make Gather, Darkness! not to be immediately dismissed as just another power metal band.
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From Valkyrian Music:
The symphonic, orchestral intro to the instrumental ‘Overture: Hymn to Sathanas’ reminds me of the opening credits to a movie. It’s only when the guitars kick in at the start of ‘A Thousand Lies: A New Dark Age’ that you’re reminded of the fact that this is still a metal album.
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The guitar work is good and combined with the Iron Maiden / Iced Earth-style vocals it produces some pleasant sounding results.
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[N]oteworthy tracks include the slow, acoustic-sounding ‘Breaking the Sanctuary: Abandonment’ which proves that the band know how to maintain the right balance between fast, catchy power metal and epic power ballads and the catchy finale that is ‘Breaking the Sanctuary: The Infamous Dawn’.
Read the entire review here.
From Sorrow Eternal:
The beautiful orchestration that fills the opening track, “Overture: Hymn To Sathanas,” is enchanting, to say the least. The richness of each piece, from strings to horns, makes for an introductory track that gives an extra accent to the album that follows. It flows and sways, moving directly into the first chapter of the story, “A Thousand Lies.” Broken down into three pieces, this is the statement. The hammer of percussion comes down immediately on part one, “A New Dark Age,” with the thump of a kick and the tingle of the cymbal. The guitars wind and weave themselves in and out of the rhythm section, surgically precise, but not robotic. Vocally, you have something that is more to the folk side of things than you may expect. They become a vessel for the story, as do the riffs themselves, telling an ominous tale.
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The challenge of turning a work of literary fiction into a cohesive, not to mention good, metal album is one that would seem to be second nature. I mean, power metal is almost always tied to themes of fantasy and science fiction. But it is so much more complicated than it would seem on the surface. Burning Shadows take the work of [Fritz] Lieber [author of Gather, Darkness!, the book the album is based on], and turn it into an extraordinary journey. Regardless of your knowledge of the book itself (I had none prior to listening), you will find yourself immersed in the storytelling abilities. If audio books were more like this, “Gather, Darkness!” would be a sure fire New York Times Best Seller.
Rating: 8.5/10
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From PowerMetal.de:
[Translated from German]
The second album of the quartet from Maryland has it all.
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‘Man From Myth’ shows all the IRON MAIDEN-fans the double-guitar melodies still go well. ‘Cast Them Down’ is after more than lived up to its title. This is purebred US Metal as we want to hear it. Totally terrific number that serves as an introduction for lashing the seven-minute ‘Kingdoms Fall ‘. This is a wonderful, worn number at which the band can let off steam. Steadily-increasing tempo, in the long middle part with great melody runs in the stereo effect and ultimately provided by the super quick frantic finish line, this song is a classic in the long run this great disc.
Rating: 9/10
Read the entire review here.
From DangerDog:
This Maryland band offers classic heavy metal, echoing the giants of Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Blind Guardian, and develop it with aplomb.
That song set the benchmark for some rather inspired melodic power metal of Kingdoms Fall, the solemn Abandonment, and the crushing conclusion of The Infamous Dawn.
Rating: 4.5/5
Read the entire review here.