Enter Deception

Let's just cut right to the chase, shall we? CELLADOR's debut CD, Enter Deception (Metal Blade), sounds like Iron Maiden on a coke binge. If that comparison makes you think though that these boys from Omaha, Nebraska are the bastard children of Dragonforce, you'd be sorely mistaken. Where Dragonforce's blazing technicality makes it nearly impossible to listen to a full album in one sitting, CELLADOR make you hit the repeat button song after song.

The Maiden comparisons are obvious, however. Lead vocalist Michael Gremio has all of Bruce Dickinson's vocal chops, save for the operatic range that Brucey boy whips out from time to time. Gremio's vocal range allows him to hit the high notes strongly in a song like "Forever Unbound" or give that Dickinsonian-like sneer for a vocal in "Never Again". Guitarists Chris Peterson and Bill Hudson could easily take over the guitar duties for Maiden should they be called upon. They shred all over this record but their riffs are incomparable on "Seen Through Time" and "Wakening". As you listen to this record, it almost seems like the guitar work gets better and better with each song.

While Maiden will come through loud and clear, these guys are no cover band. They are clearly accomplished players with a love for classic metal as well as the new breed of power metal. This is an album that demands to be blasted out of cars with the windows down in the middle of summer. Actually, this might be the metal soundtrack for summer. It's that good.