There are a million and one thought pieces out there regarding the never-ending U.S. vs. euro power metal debate, so I’ll spare you my two cents, though you probably know where I lie already if you’re familiar enough with this webzine. What I’d rather discuss is this bizarre paradigm we’re currently living in, where modern U.S. power metal bands are doing their best to sound like their euro counterparts, and vice versa. Darklon fall into the latter category. For a band from Greece who formed in 2017, they sure sound like an American bunch who formed in 1982, scouted by the great Brian Slagel to hold court on one of the legendary Metal Massacre compilations.
Their latest album, Mind Reaper, is their third, and it left me wondering: How the hell did I miss their first two? Admittedly, this might just feed into the “Too many bands, not enough fans” theory perpetuated by the likes of J-Dawg of Hell’s Headbangers infamy, but I digress. I guess the real point is if you do enough digging, you might just stumble upon gold. That’s exactly what I’ve done here, only instead of gold, it’s USPM worship circa ’84 done right, which is about the same value as gold in today’s economy!
Now I already know what you’re thinking. “Which band does Darklon sound most adjacent to?” Considering many of these songs follow a blistering power/speed template, upon first listen, I found myself lazily drawing comparisons to Thundersteel era Riot. Make no mistake: Those influences are present, just as they are on every power metal album released since 1988. Then, I listened a little closer. Thundersteel is certainly more finetuned, polished, and a little closer to its euro peers than this album is, so taking Darklon’s balance of raw aggression and valorous spirit into consideration, a more appropriate comparison, to my ear, would be Omen.
Like I said, the majority of the cuts on here are fast, unrelenting, and most importantly powerful. Perhaps it’s a template that, come the album’s back half, becomes a tad repetitive, but man does it hit the spot. Cuts like “In the Abyss”, “Shockwave”, and “Hell’s Heroes” will keep heads banging and swords clanking from start to finish. In between these battlefield ragers are no shortage of epic metal maneuvers in the Brocas Helm and Manilla Road vein (particularly in the instrumentation), as well as the occasional slab of Painkiller era Priest romanticism. Maybe it’s just me, but the riffs on “Powercast” and “The Mad Messiah” scream Tipton and Downing circa 1990. All that’s missing are the iconic shrieks of Halford, but hey, frontman Billy “The Kid” Chrepas, who makes his debut here, does a fine job himself!
While Mind Reaper isn’t the most powerful of power metal albums dropped in 2025, it sure ain’t no skimpy show of skin and bones either. This is bloodlustful, over the top, U.S. steel with a bite, Conan the Barbarian-core with a grip that never relents…from Greece! I mean, I’m not too shocked by this revelation. Greece boasts a rich history of power and epic metal acts, which makes sense considering the country’s history itself. Darklon are a fine addition to the Hellenic power fold.
7 out of 10
Label: No Remorse Records
Genre: Power Metal
For fans of: Omen, Riot, Judas Priest