In 2000, traditional heavy metal, from doom to speed metal, had not yet recovered from the '90s. A decade in which the old values of this style of music were no longer highly regarded and grunge, crossover and then gothic metal took over for a few years. In the USA, the situation may have been even tougher, which was also felt by a few high school kids from Olympia, Washington.
In the detailed liner notes to the album “Power Castle” you learn that they actually started out as a kind of student band, even though the individual young musicians were already exceptionally talented. The first line-up changes happened relatively quickly and the band, now called Power Castle, began to be taken extremely seriously. A restored demo from this period is included on the CD version as a bonus. Here you can hear the hunger and pure conviction at every second, even if they weren't perfect yet.
They played gigs and even started producing quite an elaborate show - all without a record deal - and became a popular local act. Nevertheless, the band fell apart at times and only resurfaced briefly in 2005 and 2012. In 2017 they decided to record the early tracks, which are now available on CD and LP for the first time via Golden Core and make up the actual debut album. Since this product was only available digitally on Bandcamp and on a handful of burned CDRs, we can't speak of a typical re-release.
The material of the now experienced musicians is the perfect mix of US metal and the sound of Iron Maiden.
1. Seven Days
2. Fight
3. Cold Hard Stone
4. Gallows Gate
5. Scorched Land
6. Punic Wars
7. Paths Of Steel
8. Power Castle
9. Seven Days (rehearsal 2001)
10. Fight (rehearsal 2001)
11. Cold Hard Stone (rehearsal 2001)
12. Gallows Gate (rehearsal 2001)
13. Power Castle (rehearsal 2001)