A name like Dionysus would seem to suggest lofty designs and glorious musical creations, but sadly this is rarely the case with this pan-European power metal quintet's overwhelmingly pedestrian first outing,
Sign of Truth. A 'supergroup' combining various players who cut their teeth with second rate metal bands, their songs, rather than uniting in strength to produce a greater whole, instead only distill the talents of all involved into a set of expertly performed, but ultimately dull and uninventive power metal. You really can't fault them for trying, but the grand choruses heard on tracks like "Time will Tell," "Pouring Rain," and "Anthem (For the Children)" (hello! calling
White Lion!) sound like
Helloween circa 1988 -- but with none of the passion and grit, much less any originality 15 years on. Even the trend bucking, ultra-aggressive "Bringer of Truth" merely recycles the riff from
Judas Priest's "Painkiller," and marries it with an amazingly cheesy chorus, but the pounding "Never Wait" definitely deserves a mention, if only because of guitarist Johnny Ohlin's fierce fretwork. The semi-power ballads "Don't Forget" and "Walk on Fire" also offer a few bright moments, but unless Germanic power metal is your absolute favorite past time,
Sign of Truth will probably leave you cold. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia