Sometimes it’s hard to be a reviewer. I haven’t done much melodic power metal reviews, so it’s not that I’ve said everything already, but maybe it’s a sort of writers block or something… I really like what I hear, but I find it hard to describe to you why I like The Dawn Of Enlightenment from the Massachusetts metallers of Armory.

The sound of Armory is very recognizable and can be compared with bands like Edguy, Hammerfall and also Iron Maiden, with too much caffeine that is. The only thing I don’t hear in their music (that much) are backing vocals and at some points I really miss them. When I’m listening to a song like ‘Riding The Cosmic Winds’ I myself am thinking about how I should sing the backing vocals, because they are missed. On the other hand it would be a bit predictable.

Although I’m seeking for the right words to describe this release I also could have said: “Check this out when you like heavy metal / melodic power metal in general and you’ll not be disappointed”. The fast and tight guitar solos are played as if they are buying bread at the local bakery; it al sounds so natural and effortless. Their biggest pearl is by the way the title track. ‘The Dawn Of Enlightenment’ has everything in it Armory stands for and although it lasts for almost a quarter of an hour it didn’t bore me for a sec.

Originally this album was released back in 2004, but this album sounds everything but outdated. In addition for this re-release there are two bonus tracks featured on this release. The first one is a cover of Iron Maiden’s ‘Flight Of Icarus’ and the second one is a cover of the music from the first stage of a Nintendo game called Mega Man 2.

As for the conclusion I would like to end this review with the same words Armory ends its bio: “LONG LIVE HEAVY METAL!”