Adamantis: Far Flung Realm (self-released, 2020)

It’s no secret I tend to get excited about American heavy metal, especially US power metal. While so many European bands seem like they’re going through the motions, these hungry young US bands are putting their hearts and souls into their craft. Case in point: Adamantis. The Massachusetts-based band just released their full-length debut, titled Far Flung Realm, and it’s already one of my favorite albums of 2020.

The guys in Adamantis were clearly influenced by the usual suspects in the European power metal scene – Blind Guardian, Gamma Ray, Running Wild and the like – but there’s also an epic aspect to their sound that reminds me of Visigoth and Atlantean Kodex. This isn’t hyper-melodic sing-songy power metal. It’s “stand with your back against a wall and face a horde of your enemies with your trusty sword and feel some kind of way about it afterwards” power metal. Devastating riffs, melodies that are effective but not over-emphasized and strong, dramatic vocals all come together brilliantly on Far Flung Realm.

There’s a lot to love on this album. The lead-in and huge chorus on “Second Sight” recall early Blind Guardian, while “Siege Of Arkona” is an Atlantean Kodex-style epic that feels like a full concept album packed into five minutes and fifty-five seconds. Album closer “Voron (The Ravensong)” has that same epic vibe. The speedier, more melodic songs like “Unbound Souls” “Fire And Brimstone” and “Journeys End” may be the best moments on Far Flung Realm though.

So yeah, US power metal rules and this album is a great example of why that’s the case. Adamantis delivers power metal you can get excited about. There’s also plenty of crossover appeal to fans of traditional and even doom metal (the Candlemass kind, not the stoner stuff). It’s melodic, it’s heavy, it’s epic, and it’s executed very, very well. Far Flung Realm is a strong contender for the best power metal album of 2020, and is one that fans of bands like Helion Prime, Atlantean Kodex, Gamma Ray, Dire Peril, Visigoth and Ironflame really need to check out.