Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *

Phoenix of Avalon may not be a name that is well known in Liverpool just yet but on the back of their debut E.P. it surely won’t be long before the name of the band and the two members, Stephen Redfern and David Connor, are more common place.

Although bands such as the Wirral’s The Guardians and Mashemon have a huge head start in their respective journeys as the foremost young bands in the Liverpool area, the debut E.P. by the group, the tantalisingly titled Reborn, shows the band have much promise in their own material. The songs flow in the best possible way and on the songs Battle of Fallen Angels and Letters To No One, the ferocity of the lyrics are matched well with the beating heart that the music provides.

There is something that is reminiscent of Iron Maiden’s first lead vocalist Paul DiAnno in the way that Stephen Redfern comes across on the E.P.  There is a stoicism that is endearing and flows well within the confines of the four songs on Reborn.  It is a distracting pleasure that bodes very well for the future of the band and if the E.P. is anything to go by then the music will get better and better as they produce more of this very good rock music.

It will of course take time for the band to reach their full potential, in itself not a bad thing as the best music takes time to gather strength, in much the same way that fine whisky takes care and the right conditions to reach full maturity. However the foundations have been laid and strong, unbreakable ones they are as well.

Phoenix of Avalon’s Reborn is enjoyable set of songs which blends the heavy metal, rock and the dramatic in one musical swoop, a rarity which shows the encompassing nature of Liverpool’s fine music tradition.

Ian D. Hall