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Novareign play power metal, the new American style that injects it with traditional metal grit and a bit of death metal heft. They hew closest to other California bands, often sounding like Holy Grail dialed up to Exmortus (and featuring a former member). But they inject a bit of the epic swagger and genre-hopping of recent darlings Unleash the Archers and Aether Realm, as well one of my favourites, Tanagra.
Despite Legends being the band's first full length, they've been together since 2012 and it shows. It's an instrumental fireworks show; drums gallop at lightning speed and riffs fly by. Solos blaze through arpeggios, tapping, and whammy acrobatics.
There is so much going on that, upon first listen, it can all blend together to simply sound like "some neoclassical band", but the album unfolds upon repeated listens revealing all manner of catchy riffs and choruses as well as some diversions into Necrophagist-ey death metal riffing. Impressively, it doesn't come off as self indulgent, but earnest and fun. Novareign don't think they're better than you. They can shred and want you to have as much fun listening as they do shredding.
Front to back, Legends absolutely rips and any fan of the new wave of US power metal will be in for a treat. I get the feeling, though, that the best is yet to come for Novareign . It sometimes sounds like they're pulling of the instrumental acrobatics effortlessly and that they could actually be doing a bit more, compositionally, which is a bit of a back-handed compliment. Their shredding is already top notch, but there are moments of sheer brilliance where an arpeggio or riff goes in a different direction than it first seems and I want to see that creativity pushed further, since their musical skill is amply clear.
Similar to the musicians, it sounds like singer David Marquez is holding back a bit, though there are moments of absolute brilliance that really show what he can do like the sustained note at the end of "Call on the Storm". Across the album, though, he doesn't quite reach the heights of Holy Grail's James Luna, but I think he could.
None of this drags the album down, though. It's a blast, and a really great addition to the US power metal canon but it leaves me feeling like their next record will blow this one away and could shatter expectations the way Apex did, taking an already great band to the top. I'll certainly be along for the ride.