Artist: Roger Staffelbach's Angel of Eden Album: The End Of Never (2007) Label: Lion Music Website: http://www.angelofedenband.com Reviewer: Paulo André

Track List: 01. The End Of Never 02. Dreamchaser 03. Angel Of Eden 04. Return Of The Pharaoh (Part I) 05. The Battle Of 1386 06. Into The Black 07. Return Of The Pharaoh (Part II) 08. Keys To Avalon 09. Stampede 10. Towards The Light 11. You Don't Remember, I'll Never Forget It seems like a trend these days and not a bad one at that. Virtuoso guitarist gets into band, records a few albums, feels the need to get out and do his own thing. Roger Staffelbach isn't the first, surely won't be the last. Coming out of American metallers Artension, Staffelbach launches Angel of Eden as an outlet for his own ideas and recruits what can be regarded as an all-star roster along the way. With him are Carsten Schulz on vocals and Rami Ali on drums, both formerly of Evidence One and keyboard player Mistheria - somehow I like the name - who is better known for having previously worked with Iron Maiden's demigod Bruce Dickinson. The star parade doesn't quite end here, with the likes of Dave Shankle (ex-Manowar), Ferdy Doernberg (Axel Rudi Pell), Steve Di Georgio playing bass on every track (Death, Testament, Iced Earth) and John West (former Artension vocalist) also joining the ranks. Granted, an all-star lineup not always make for a good team but it certainly does here. "The End of Never" is a powerhouse of a record that starts as regular power metal, segues into progressive metal with a Symphony X vibe, ends up reminding me of Muse (!) and accidentally forges a sound that somehow is completely their own. I must admit I'm not exactly the biggest power metal fan in the world and the first few tunes got me thinking "OK, here's some more rehashed power metal frenzy" but as soon as the player switched to the fourth track "Return of the Pharaoh (Part I)", I was flabbergasted. Almost 6 minutes of instrumental progressive metal goodness with kick ass guitar and keyboard solos plus bone crunching riffage? No way! Yes way. And "Towards The Light" just confirmed my suspicions. Angel of Eden is definitely not content to tread still and murky waters and most definitely is not your average run-o-the-mill everyday guitar shredder album. Staffelbach can certainly play the instrument no less than, say, Yngwie Malmsteen or Michael Romeo can (there's even a Malmsteen cover as a bonus track, "You Don't Remember, I'll Never Forget"), and it shows here, but this is a complete team effort. The sound quality is terrific (bar a guitar solo or two here and there), the keyboards aren't just filling up space but really enhance the whole and Rami Ali is an incredible, forceful drummer - take for instance the beginning of "Into The Black" as an example of how heavy and incredibly metal this guy can sound. Schulz is no less good in here, suiting the music just fine and providing a few really excellent moments along the way. So, in a nutshell, what do you get for your money with this record? Kick ass traditional power metal songs, with a huge guitar and drum sound, incredibly tasty riffs and rhythm guitars. And you also get a couple of progressive instrumentals that blast a lot of so-called prog metal bands away, which incidentally I consider to be the highlights of this record. Pardon me if I sound too enthusiastic about this band almost like they were my children but it's very rare that a power metal record blows me away these days. This one did. Band: Roger Staffenbach - Guitars Carsten 'Lizard' Schulz - Vocals Rami Ali - Drums Mistheria - Keyboards Guest Musicians: Steve Di Georgio – Bass John West – lead vocals on “The Battle Of 1386” Dave Shankle – first solo on solo section of Return Of The Pharaoh (Pt. I) Ferdy Doernberg – keyboards on tracks 1, 2, 3 + 4