Mythos is the debut album of the Italian Raising Fear and during the first spin of this disc I somehow confused this band with Rising Faith. Considering the fact that I don’t much care for the aforementioned band my expectations for Mythos weren’t too high. Luckily I turned out to be pretty badly mistaken since this wasn’t Rising Faith nor is this a bad album, on the contrary.

Although Raising Fear hail from Italy they do not walk the same well-trodden and cliché-riddled boring path as most of their compatriots. Instead they combine American power metal with touches of European power metal and blend it all into a pretty tasteful mix that sounds both classic and refreshing. Sure, Mythos doesn’t miss out on some of the clichés that plague the scene but nevertheless Raising Fear have managed to avoid most of the pitfalls and have come up with an album that’s well worth a listen.

The songs are epic and varied featuring strong riffs and neoclassical interludes with great guitar work. Furthermore, there are plenty of lead breaks and speed changes to keep things interesting.

There’s a very good balance between speed, aggression and melody. My only real complaint concerns the length of some of the songs and it’s my impression that some of them (like the opener “Thorr” and the melodic “The Goddess” for instance) drag on slightly too long and could be tightened up a bit. This is however a matter of personal preference.

The vocals of Rob DF are good although he lacks a bit in the melodic department but his diversity makes up for that. He’s definitely pleasant to listen too and most likely would benefit from a slightly heavier production; just like the rest of the band for that matter.

Raising Fear show all the telltale signs of a promising band and I’m already highly awaiting a follow up to Mythos to see in what direction the band is heading. For now I will put this disc spinning one more time and if you are a fan of old school metal I advice you to check this one out.