Ravenland is the first full-length album for Edge of Thorns and I must say that this is great debut to say the least. This band, hailing from Germany, offers a head-banging ride of melodic metal through nine tracks. I can't really pick a favorite; all the songs in Ravenland are well balanced and offer a pretty good start for a debut album. “A Rose for the Dead” is one of the best ballads I have heard in years and is truly one of those songs you'll want to listen to again and again.

Dirk Schmitt has a great voice and can be defined as rough, yet energetic with great examples being in “Dark Magician”, “Lost”, and once again, “A Rose for the Dead”. The rest of the band is top notch with an honorable mention for Lothar Kramer's keyboard work in such songs as “Lost” to name one.

It will be great to see where Edge of Thorns will go with their future album. As for now, Ravenland is a worthy album to be added to anyone's metal collection. Rock On!

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