[i]Millennium Metal, State Of Triumph[/i] and [i]Hero Nation[/i] were the three previous albums of this succesful German Heavy Metal formation. Following a solid and exciting concept story, [b]Metalium[/b] has written the fourth part of this epic tale entitled [i]AS ONE � Chapter Four[/i]. [i]Astral Avatar[/i] is the introduction to this chapter, explaining who �The Metalium� is. The first song perfectly connects to this introduction. [i]Warrior[/i] is a fast song with solid drums, fast guitars and an aggressive high voice (on some tracks a bit too high) as we are used of Henning Basse. The backing vocals give that extra bit of �power� that makes the song a real lightning storm. The story not only follows The Mighty Metalium on his journey on this album, but also a hero�ne called The Metaliana. This character is not just described in the lyrics, but has actually been given life in the form of the voice of the young Japanese Metalprincess Saeko Kitamae. On the track [i]Find Out[/i], she sings a duet with The Metalium. The mid-paced, energetic song is introduced with a tight bass-intro and the introduction of Kitamae�s voice is truly a great one. Sometimes aggressive, sometimes very melodic, you can hear she has been taking vocal lessons from Henning. After the slow but melodic opus [i]Illuminated[/i], [i]Athena[/i] is one of those songs which stay with you for a long time. The guitar parts in this track are absolutely great. The backing vocals on the chorus are very choir-like, which gives the listener this typical �hero feeling�. After another couple of very solid songs, [i]We Are As One[/i] comes along. Wow. I mean, wow. This song is fantastic. The backing vocals are again very powerful in this song, which embodies the message the band is sending out to the world. The rythmic guitarintro makes sure you listen to the song, then play it back just so you can listen to it again. While listening to this song, I could picture myself as The Metalium doing all those great heroic things. The fact that not all tracks on this album are high-speed makes it very interesting to listen to. The diversity both in musical and vocal professionalism is enough to make the purchase of this album more than worthwile. The razorsharp guitarriffs, pumping basslines, warrior cries and battering drums will keep your ear glued to your speakers. As far as I�m concerned, The Metalium has proven his hero�sm on this album. All Hail! Line-Up: [b]Metalium:[/b] Henning Basse � Vocals Matthias Lange � Guitars Lars Ratz � Bass Micheal Ehre � Drums [b]Guest Appearances:[/b] Don Airey � Keyboards Stephan Schlabritz � Voice Of The Metal God Saeko Kitamae � Voice Of The Metaliana Track List: 1: Astral Avatar 2: Warrior 3: Pain Crawls In The Night 4: Find Out 5: No One Will Save You 6: Meaning Of Light 7: Illuminated (Opus One) 8: Meaning Of Light (Reprise) 9: Athena 10: Screaming In The Darkness (European Bonus) 11: Power Strikes The Earth 12: Goddess Of Love And Pain 13: As One (Finale) [b]Review by BlackRain[/b]