Crystal Eyes - World Of Black And Silver (1999)

Sweden's Crystal Eyes make it clear straight away that they know what they want in power metal - lyrics that mix space with fantasy, fast tempo, and melodious songs, all of which follow the standard verse-bridge-chorus structure. A problem I have with this debut is that vocalist/guitarist/main songwriter Mikael Dahl's voice is not loud enough in the mix for much of the album, which offsets some of the good tunes found in the likes of "Gods Of The World" and "The Dragon's Lair". The other problem is that, after a while, the tracks start to lose their appeal as it goes, and it eventually just lies there a bit.
Don't get me wrong, I think this is a good record overall, but Crystal Eyes (I assume the name is a variation of the word "crystalise"?) still have work to do to really hit power metal bull's eye.

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