ALBUM:TALES FROM THE NORTH
ARTIST:WHITE SKULL
YEAR OF RELEASE:1999
RATING:*** 1/2

White Skull have been around for awhile, but their previous albums are both unimpressive and unavailable except via imports. Now signed with Nuclear Blast, with Grave Digger's Chris Boltendahl as producer, White Skull have finally made their way into the American scene with one of the best power metal albums of '99. With Tales From the North, they have developed a sense of what excellent power metal should sound like. Featuring epic choruses and stories of vikings and Norse gods, they fit right in with the likes of friends Grave Digger and the similarly styled Excelsis. They are not as fast as some bands, but the epic feel of the music more than makes up for it. Also of note is the band's female vocalist, which is rather uncommon for this type of music. Oftimes however, she does not sound like a woman, utilising rough, almost Dave Mustaine-style growls, so a casual listener might not even release the singer is female. Chris Boltendahl himself even sings on a couple of songs, and contributes backing vocals, lending even more class to this release. Highlights of this album are the title track and the trilogy of "Kriemhild Story", "The Killing Queen", and "The Terrible Slaughter".

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