SHADOW OF THE MOON

I was fairly disappointed with this; the first album to try from the band. Having been a big fan of Ritchie Blackmore (from Rainbow and Deep Purple), liking Celtic themes (castles, mistrels, wild women, etc.), liking some folk-rock with female vocals (Renaissance, Illusion, Steeleye Span), and seeing high reviews for this album, I was expecting quite a bit more to like.

Most of the songs are light, fairly poppy, with Celtic themes. Though the instrumentation is respectable, there is a lack of energy, power, and creativity here. The songs are overly syrupy, and are probably better suited as children's music.

In all fairly, I believe some of their later albums have more muscle and energy and balance to them. Ghost of a Rose is probably much better, with drums and slightly darker melodies, and more variation.