Wind Wraith - The Fortune Teller's Gaze. 2001 USA

Wind Wraith were an obscure metal band from Long Island, who like many, were lost in the shuffle when seemingly 100's of these albums were coming out every week during this era. The couple of reviews I did find were somewhat middling, though it would appear they were hoping for a power metal classic, which I believe were the fans the album was marketed to. To my ears, this sounds like old fashioned mid 80s post-NWOBHM metal, particularly Iron Maiden around the time of Piece of Mind or Powerslave. There is a certain epicness to their songwriting, even if the track lengths are relatively modest. I was quite impressed with the performance, production, and composition style here - and the concept of melody was never lost. A very nice surprise.

Personal collection
CD: 2004 Iron Glory (Germany)

Iron Glory were also responsible for many of the Manilla Road albums/reissues. They folded roughly around 2005 or so.

Last listen: August 9, 2016