With ‘Metal/Technology’ Winterlong bids farewell to the neo classical power metal we know from its previous releases. But instead of what the title makes us think, this is not a hyper modern combination between heavy metal and electronic music. This is a metal album in it’s most purest form, the albums reminds me very much to bands as Accept and the early Judas Priest. In fact I sometimes got the idea I’m listening to Rob Halford himself, especially in songs like ‘The Hunter’ and ‘Cleaning Machine’. I accidentally start singing along Priest lyrics.

There is one very big difference with bands such as mentioned above; the use of different electronics. Without making it sound like an industrial band, bandleader Thobjorn England has given the music a very fresh sound by adding all kinds of sound effects and other electronic elements in the songs. This combined with the heavy and thundering metal riffs makes it a solid metal album.

Besides the electronic influences ‘Metal/Technology’ is not really spectacular, or something we haven’t heard before, but not bad to listen to either.

To make sure the album would sound just like he had in mind, Thobjorn England totally wrote and recorded the album by himself. Thobjorn did a very good job, I’m not a big fan of solo recordings, most of the time I miss the diversity within the songs you get when using different writers. Like I said before the use of electronics gives the music a very fresh thoutch and makes sure the album never gets get bored or monotonous.

To conclude; ‘Metal/Technology’ is good and solid metal album, with some nice electronic influences. If Winterlong keeps on making albums like this in stead of the neo classic power metal, we know from it’s predecessors I won’t complain.