Band:	Atavistia
Album:	Cosmic Warfare
Style:	Melodic death metal, Extreme power metal
Release date:	April 2023

01. Omega Nova
02. Cosmic Warfare
03. Ethereal Wanderer [feat. Vincent Jones]
04. Spectral Rebirth
05. Divine Destruction
06. Forgotten Silence

At the extreme end of the power metal spectrum we find a Canadian power metal band called Atavistia, a band unlike any other in power metal (cough, cough, Wintersun).

Since their formation back in 2014, Atavistia have presented us with three releases, those being the impressive Within The Sun (2017), the equally impressive Winter Way (2020), and of course, the latest release that we have before us now, Cosmic Warfare. With their melodeath tendencies, and extreme style of power metal; that is powerfully driven by epic orchestral symphonies, could this be a possible successor to the mighty Wintersun?

There's no denying that the foundations of which Atavistia's style is based upon are hugely influenced by Wintersun, although I say more so for their previous two outputs. This, you could say, is due to the wintery themed settings those releases we're set around. This time around, Cosmic Warfare follows a different theme, as the album title gives away, and of course, we also have a stunning inter-galactic cover art to back up the album's theme too. I bet you can guess what the theme is set around before you even give yourself a chance to listen to the album. Yes, this album is centered around a cosmic theme, rather than the usual winter-themed soundscapes we've become so accustomed to, and Atavistia brilliantly work their magic to bring this cosmic setting to life.

The band pulls off some stunning performances, and epic songwriting throughout these unsurprisingly lengthy six tracks. Their well-crafted instrumentation is brought to us through epically melodious riffing and soaring melodic leads and solo's taking centre stage. It goes without saying, there are stunningly crafted symphonies throughout, and an impressively powerful clean vocal performance, complimenting harsh aggressive growls, all courtesy of the vocalist and major orchestrator Mattias Sippola. All of these elements come together, of course, through an outstanding production.

Listening through each track is like an intergalactic journey, despite feeling at times as though if they venture into a plodding abyss, but no track pulls off the epic songwriting approach better than “Divine Destruction”. With its folkish guitar melodies and galloping riffs, accompanied by soaring leads, narrative passages and awe-inspiring cosmic symphonies, this track has it all, and yet remains unpredictable and interesting throughout. Not the same can be said for every track, but each track does have its moments of outstanding brilliance.

Another highlight for me is undoubtedly the closing epic “Forgotten Silence”. The track epically builds up and builds up, through a bold yet fantastic clean vocal performance, accompanied by satisfying symphonic orchestrations. It's fitting to close the album on a seemingly never-ending soundtrack, for the never-ending cosmos.

So instead of painfully waiting around for the next Wintersun release, perhaps you should give Atavistia's Cosmic Warfare a try; they may well impress you. This is power metal worthy of being named “epic” power metal.