Kemilon – Twisted Storm (2012)
Maple Metal Records - Running Time 44:05

Kemilon are another power/progressive metal band from Montreal, Canada, but even though these guys only formed in 2008 and ‘Twisted Storm’ is their debut album I have heard of them and that’s probably because lead guitarist ‘Louis Jacques’ is also a member of ‘Blackguard’ who have been on my radar for a few years now. Kemilon have already shared the stage with Rhapsody Of Fire, Kamelot, Nightwish and Firewind and that should give you some indication as to their sound.

They play a tried and tested formula of power metal that has elements of Maiden and Helloween along with Blind Guardian, Kamelot and Dragonforce amongst others. One influence stands out heavily though and that is Seventh Wonder. That is mainly down to the vocals of ‘Yan Gagné’ who bears a passing resemblance to current Kamelot & Seventh Wonder singer Tommy Karevik. Now he may sometimes sound like Tommy but he does not sing with the same power and this is what lets Kemilon down slightly, especially on the harder hitting songs. He still has a good voice but it works so much better on the slower songs ‘The Glow’ being a superb example.

What do stand out on the album, however, are the keyboards of Arnaud Spick who is very talented and extremely fast but he never loses sight of the song and has a great ear for melody. In fact there isn’t anything bad to say about the level of musicianship on the album. All of them play extremely well; it’s just that the songs lack a real killer punch to make them stand out from the crowd. Some bands release a stunner straight out of the box and some develop over a longer period and I think Kemilon may well fall into the latter group. There is something bubbling under the surface with this band that could really be quite special, it just hasn’t been realised yet. I’ll await album number two with interest




https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kemilon/93542324544
http://www.myspace.com/kemilon
www.maplemetalrecords.com


Review written exclusively for Brutiful Entertainment by Rick Tilley - https://www.facebook.com/richard.tilley.351