Review: My Refuge – A Matter of Supremacy

Bakerteam Records(2015)

Reviewer: Dan Mann

My Refuge are a five piece power/prog metal band from Varese, near Milan and have been releasing music since 2010. However, ‘A Matter Of Supremacy‘ is the band’s first full length album.

The album kicks off with ‘A Storm Is Coming‘ and your instantly greeted by pounding drums and a dual guitar attack. My first impressions of the vocals was that they were a bit on the wavery side, but I must cut singer Davide Vella some slack as English is not his first language and as the song progresses things settle down a little.

On track two, ‘The Cage (Oh Demon in My Eyes)‘ there are hints of Michael Kiske which is well in keeping with the song which is reminiscent of late 80’s Helloween.

‘Calling Of The Wind‘ is again very Helloween, which is not a bad thing in my book. There are also vocal elements of one of the band’s influences, Crimson Glory. I feel this track more suits Davide‘s vocals then the opener.

Next up is ‘Endless Night‘ which opens with some powerful, deep drums and bass from the engine room. This track highlights the excellent production of the album by Andrea De Bernardi.

Again a powerful opening to a track, this time ‘Living In Anger‘ This has elements of progressive metal mixed in with the general power metal feel of the album. It’s a sound that you tend to only hear from European bands and, with a couple of exceptions, is the sound I prefer.

‘This Wall‘ has a more modern sound then the previous tracks to my ears. It doesn’t grab me as much to be absolutely honest. It’s not that it’s a bad track, just after repeated listens it has an overall feel that isn’t for me.

With ‘The Raven‘ we’re entering the symphonic end of the rock  genre, with a chant like intro before once again the dual guitars of Mauro Paietta and Simone Dettore begin to crank their stuff. I’m hearing Maiden influence, all very reminiscent of Murray & Smith.

Things are slowed down somewhat for ‘Empty Room‘ and I must say it really suits the band. Elements of Arena make this track more progressive. Great stuff.

‘On Wings Of Wax‘ brings us firmly back to power metal territory but with guitars not out of place on a Dragonforce release in places. The duet style vocals on the chorus are excellent.

And suddenly we’ve reached the final track ‘Somewhere‘ I say suddenly as the overall speed of this album makes time fly! We’re back to symphonic style vocals on the chorus, but mixed in with those earlier mentions influences of Helloween & Crimson Glory.

To sum up, if your a fan of European power metal, then this album is certainly worth a listen.