Winter Calling - As Darkness Falls (Self-Released)

Winter Calling is a rock band from Tampa, Florida started as an alternate outlet for its members when not engaged in other bands, but the attention to detail and focus they bring to the project sounds as if they had shut themselves off from the outside world solely for the purpose of perfecting their new record, As Darkness Falls. The band creates a cinematic, grandiose version of progressive metal, like an epic soundtrack to a film not yet made, and while they prove consistently throughout how capable they are of rocking hard, there is an intense melodicism to what they do as well.

Almost every song from “A World I Can Feel” to “Leader of One” begins slow and menacingly, before building to a crescendo of exploding guitars and guttural vocals. Of course, they also break up each idea individually, letting some ballads spread expansively like the almost poppy “Find My Way,” while others don’t beat around the bush with their intent, like the thunderous “Forever.” A dramatic reworking of Iron Maiden’s “Wasted Years” also finds itself on the album, which in itself is a testament to the band keeping one eye on the past and the other towards new traditions. For fans of metal and progressive rock, you really can’t go wrong with an album like As Darkness Falls.