Stormwarrior - At Foreign Shores-Live In Japan

*=Staff's pick	Intro Signe Of The Warlorde* Heavy Metal Fire Axewielder Valhalla* Odinns Warriors Thunderer To Foreign Shores Lindisfarne* Iron Prayers*

Genre	Speed/Power Metal	Lars Ramcke	Vocals
Tracks	10	David Wieczorek	Guitar
Runningtime	46 Min.	Alex Guth	Guitar
Label	Remedy Records	Jussi Zimmermann	Bass
Release	25 Aug. 2006	Falko Reshöft	Drums
Country	Germany	-	Keyboards
Similar artists	early Helloween, Running Wild

German band Stormwarrior, that if you like to be evil, can be called replicas of Helloween in the early days, from the time when Kai Hansen handled the vocals in the Walls Of Jericho era. However, Stormwarrior that was founded in 1998 are better than to be called copycats even if the comparison has to be done since they do sound very close. Anyway, in December 2005 they embarked on their first tour in Japan. Supporting Gamma Ray, Stormwarrior recorded their performances and now they summon up their thus far with the live album At Foreign Shores.

Stormwarrior has two full-length albums and one mini album to base their setlist upon and I must say that they did a good job of picking out some goodies. Their fast and catchy hymns come out greatly on this live album, the intensity comes through really well and their performances sound to have been really dynamic. I sit with a smile on my face all through this album, the speed and catchy tunes puts me in an especially cheerful mood, not least with Lindisfarne with its Running Wild twittering guitars.

Although the album is recorded over several dates, it cannot be told just by listening. The sound is clear and even though it tends to be a bit hollow, it has kept the live feeling intact making it sound raw and powerful. My only objection is that the sound level of the audience is too low, weren't there any people there? You can hear that the band must have had a great time on stage, and the performance is close to flawless, and the only negative thing is that they should have included more songs on the album.

If you like speedy metal from the era of the german eighties and in the vein of early Helloween and Running Wild this is definitely a band for your taste. At Foreign Shores is a great beginner's guide to Stormwarrior and contains fresh and dynamic versions of some of their finer songs.

See also review of: Thunder & Steele , Heading Northe , Northern Rage , Stormwarrior

Production	Vocals	Compositions
8	6	9

Summary
8,5 chalices of 10 - Thomas