Review on Crosswind - Opposing Forces e.p. (2009)

It's already been 11 years since the first demo of Crosswind.It was 1998 when "Dark Omens" was unleashed,and showed to the world the possibilities of this band.Well,to be fair,this was shown to Greece,and not in the world.Quite a good demo,with some europower melodies and catchy epicly influenced sound. Then came in 2007 with the next demo "Beyond" which got some amazing reviews worldwide (through fanzines and webzines).And now,"Opposite Forces". A demo fully recorded in England,(correct me if i'm wrong),since the songwritter and the mainman himself,Kyriakos Vasdokas,moved there in early 2008. 3 heavy metal songs influences by bands that were at their zenith in the mid 80's in the european heavy and power metal scene with their intro track for each one and one cover are fullfillin this disc. Bands like Running Wild,Helloween,Accept seem to be the main influences for this band,and even more.A unique and tremendous cover to Queensryche's "Walk In The Shadows", a cover that has left me speechless,since the voice of Kyriakos reaches the high-pitched frequences of Tate's voice.The riffs are neckbreaking and remind me a lot of some Iron Maiden.Even some "choral"-vocals in the choruses,increase the level of each song and make it more easylistening. Besides the european influences,i really have to say that this,was mainly their path in their first 2 demos.Though,in this one,the sound has been slightly "americanised",bringing back some good old memories of the great Jag Panzer with Harry "The Tyrant" Conklin in vocals.I really don't understand the way they managed to mix these sounds and bring out something so True and Heavy,but they did,and i'm happy to have this disk in my hands. My only objection,is the small length of the tracks,mostly floating in 4 minutes more or less.Some of them could be a bit longer.Don't forget the incredible work once again,for the cover of this disc,by Dimitar Nikolov,as he did and in the "Beyond" demo. Very good move by these guys who gave us for once again some very professional work.Check them on myspace,they will surely grab your attention... P.S.Kyriako,i owe you some beers in Excalibur!!!CHEERS!!!