Metal from Oz; a rather uncommon phenomenon. I quickly browsed through the info leaflet that came along with this release and my eye fell upon a rather interesting statement: “Lord Tim, the Kai Hansen of the Oz metal scene.” A rather promising statement but from experience I know that leaflets tend to exaggerate quite a bit and I steeled myself for some major disappointment before putting this disc into my CD-player.

To my surprise I must admit that the aforementioned statement isn’t that far off and singer/guitarist Tim Grose could very well be compared to Kai Hansen. “One Step Beyond” is a very energetic album with lots of dual guitar harmonies and a lot of good solos, and while Tim’s voice isn’t the best the scene has to offer (sounds familiar?), it has nevertheless its own distinctive sound. He isn’t trying to copy anyone and his vocals are definitely good enough.

Although Dungeon live up to many of my expectations there are a few things that annoy me. First of all the production of this CD is rather thin and it hurts the music. These tracks could have sounded so much better with a more powerful production, although I do realize that this is a matter of taste. Secondly, some of the riffs sound dangerously familiar. For instance, the opening riff and the dual harmonies that follow in “Art Of War” sound like they could have been played by Iced Earth.

“One Step Beyond” is definitely a good album that is more in the vein of American power metal than the European version. It is diverse, fast and furious; a true guitar onslaught. Yet again does Limb Music Products show its uncanny talent to find one of these promising power metal acts. Unfortunately, the relatively weak production brings it down a few notches.