Review: Isen Torr-Mighty and Superior

Mighty and Superior is an EP released back in 2004 by the power metal band Isen Torr. To be clear, while I am as fond as any metal fan of endlessly subdividing the genre, I try to be reasonable and to me power metal is a term I use for bands that don't fall into other genres such as death, black, thrash, etc... (For the record has defines their sound as Anglo-Saxon metal) So, while Isen Torr is power metal, their sound is far from the bombast of groups like Blind Guardian and Dragonforce. The music on Mighty and Superior is much more understated and better off for it. In fact, the only real criticism I can give this EP is that there are only two songs on it (a third is a demo version). One problem I've always had with the power metal genre is how cringe-inducingingly cheesey it can be. I think there's a fine line between a song that's over the top and sounds awesome and one that sounds ridiculous. A line so fine that it can be crossed by the same band from album to album (compare Iced Earth's Horrorshow and Glorious Burden). I think one of the most important factors with this style of music is the vocalist's ability to "sell" the song. Isen Torr's Tony Taylor does this fairly well and the lyrics are a cut above most other power metal (hell, they're better than a lot of Iron Maiden's later output). The music is what really shines. Nothing groundbreaking but the riffs are interesting and well executed. The music gives me that inspired feel, like I'm ready to don some plate armor and ride off to war. Or something like that. Overall one of my favorite power metal recordings. If you hate this genre this won't make you a believer, but fans should love it. **** out of 5.