Saint Deamon is a new Swedish "supergroup" of sorts that includes two ex-members of Dionysus namely, bassist Magnus "Nobby" Norberg and drummer Ronny Milianowicz and former Highland Glory vocalist Jan Thore Grefstad. Guitarist Toya Johansson rounds out the line-up and this album, In Shadows Lost From The Brave is the band's debut album. Ronny Milianowicz has also co-written with Primal Fear in the past and the partnership between him and guitarist Toya Johansson for the Sinner albums, seems to be working very well here as well. Saint Deamon combines the best elements of power metal, melodic heavy metal as well as more traditional heavy metal with a rich sense of melody and huge soaring choruses in an album that is surely to please fans of all genres of melodic heavy metal music.

After the ominous drone of The Exodus, My Judas kicks in with a retro Savatage, Sword type of metal riffing that is contrasted by the soaring vocals of Jan Thore Grefstad. He has a great, strong voice and sounds like a cross between Michael Kiske, Jorn Lande and even a bit like Edu Falaschi (Angra) and Kai Hansen (Gamma Ray). Speedy power metal is front and center with tracks like the title track In Shadows Lost From The Brave, Black Symphony and The Brave Never Bleeds. In Shadows Lost From The Brave uses speedy harmony thirds in a Hammerfall kind of way but overall, the vocals and harmony lead guitar work sound very Gamma Ray-like. Black Symphony has a slight neo-classical edge in its double bass fuelled riff driven sound and has a style and arrangement that is very similar to Yngwie Malmsteen material. Besides the speedy tempo, The Brave Never Bleeds has a chunky and heavy style that uses Iron Maiden style galloping riffs, lead harmonies and a huge chorus. Saint Deamon is a band that really likes to delve into very dynamic and epic sounding material. Tracks like No Man's Land, offer up a slower Heaven And Hell type groove with lots of atmospheric passages and a wild and speedy tempo change for the lead solos. Deamons has an epic neo-classical Stratovarius style with a huge Glory To The Brave type of huge chorus and is about the perils on the high seas. Tracks like Run For Your Life and Ride Forever are more mid tempo melodic heavy metal with Ride Forever having Renegade era Hammerfall like qualities. Two huge power ballads are found on this album with My Heart also being the first single to be released. A huge emotional and powerful song, the chorus is out of this world and shows the immense power in Jan Thore Grefstad's voice. My Sorrow once again builds from a piano/voice intro into another monstrous power ballad with another huge chorus. These two tracks really highlight the fact that Jan Thore Grefstad is the secret weapon that this band has and is going to take them places. The only real fault with this album is with the track The Burden. It's a solid riff driven metal track but the screaming Tim Owens vocal style is a poor attempt at infusing aggressiveness into this band's sound and just doesn't work.

Vocal melody-wise, you'd be hard pressed to find a band that does it any better than these guys. They combine so many different styles of metal into their sound; sometimes going for more ominous and darker atmospheric qualities in very stark contrast to the soaring vocal melodies. The entire band is solid with lots of melodic lead solos, pounding bass and drums and a top-notch production quality. Even compared to his work with Highland Glory, the true vocal talents of Jan Thore Grefstad have never been more realized than they are here. With members from both Highland Glory and Dionysus in their ranks, Saint Deamon's In Shadows Lost From The Brave is far better than anything either of those two bands has ever done. Diversity is one thing that usually appeals to me but Saint Deamon could use a little more focus with their next album as this one covers a very wide array of styles. However, it still offers the listener a truly enjoyable listening experience with many "get stuck in your head choruses". That for me, is the true sign of a great album!! Saint Deamon is part of ProgPower USA this September in Atlanta, Georgia, be sure to check them out. Most of this album is available for streaming on the band's website.

Check out the band's Myspace page