review by: Roberto Martinelli

Brainstorm is trying to lead the "true metal" charge. Even their website is www.truemetal.de. However, try as they might, there's just something that's largely missing about this band.

Call it a lack of riffs, catchiness or general rockin'ness, the songs on Metus Mortis do have some appeal, but you have to concentrate to appreciate it. This is because Brainstorm's music is neither fun nor gripping.

To the band's credit, the music is trying to branch away somewhat from the more common, happy sing-along power metal from Europe. And while there are a few things that stand out and grab your attention, like the near-inhuman double bass drumming that comes up every now and again, the singer's voice isn't especially remarkable enough to improve upon the merely above-average riffs.

Despite these criticisms, I have a feeling that Iced Earth fans may enjoy this band. I hear some similar patterns and signatures between these two groups, and since I feel largely the same about Iced Earth as I do about Brainstorm (with Brainstorm being much less cheesy), that may be reason enough for some of you to check this out.