Freddy Alexis was the singer of Inquisicion and Witchblade, now he's presenting a solo album. He teamed up with long-time mate Gabriel Hidalgo for the song writing. The band is completed by guitarists Julian Jabbaz and Gino Mikanovic, bassist Alex Cofre and drummer Juan Ulloa.
The intro Into The Light isn't preparing you for what you'll have to face with Shadows! Alexis offers a power metal tune with complex elements, a dash bombast, epic backing vocals and vocals which are influenced by US metal. After the up-tempo opener they slow down for Golden Path, a melodic heavy metal tune - with a melancholy edge. At Friendly Fire the vocals of Freddy Alexis are partly remind me of Michael Kiske, actually the tune shows some reminiscences to Gamma Ray - but there is something else. Very heavy is the title track Birds Of Prey, based on a heavy groove this one shows another facet of Freddy Alexis. His vocals remind me a bit of Helstar's James Rivera at this one.... At Metallizer II Freddy Alexis sounds like a mix of Rob Halford and King Diamond... The song itself is more heavy metal á la Judas Priest. The last 3 songs are bonus tracks, remixed / remastered versions of songs from the last Witchblade album Reborn. Without You is a ballad with acoustic guitar and vocals, somehow it don't move me... It lacks the x-factor... Quite heavy is the up-tempo tune The Witchblade, a fast power metal tune which is one of the strongest tunes of Birds Of Prey. This one has some Stratovarius elements. With Killing Truth they come to an end and leave one with mixed feelings. Well, the songs are well performed and vary a lot, and actually that's a bit of a problem, coz it's more like a compilation then a homogenous album. Additionally Freddy Alexis' vocals remind you of one or the other singer. The songs sound familiar and it's quite entertaining.
For me the album lacks personality, a more unique sound.... And with less then 40 minutes it's a bit short... Without the 3 bonus tracks it would have qualified as an EP. The Chilean band needs to find their own style, if they want to get more attention. So I recommend to give it a try and make up your mind.
