Following in the very large boot-steps of Stratovarius and Sonata Arctica before them, Excalion is a Finnish sextet seeking power metal glory with their debut album, Primal Exhale, which contains ten extremely competent but hardly all that groundbreaking examples of this oft-critically maligned but nevertheless ever-popular subgenre.

As heard on typical album tracks like "Temptation Wasteland," "Dire Waters," and "My Legacy," however, Excalion obviously prize songwriting over instrumental masturbation, and they know better than to hang their war-helmets on unwavering thrashing from start to finish.

This equivalent of restraint, by power metal standards, offers the ideal canvas for the flexible, powerful, but rarely over-the-top (again, by power metal standards) operatics of vocalist Jarmo Pääkkönen, whose room for improvement is only exposed during unusual examples of space afforded by the unconvincing power ballad, "Heart & Home." Not that it ultimately matters all that much since Excalion's real ace in the hole is unquestionably keyboardist and chief songwriter Jarmo Myllyvirta.

Throughout the LP it's almost always his solos (see "Stage of Lies") and semi-symphonic arrangements ("A Moment in the Spotlight," "Megalomania," etc.) which provide the most imaginative moments; and, when given room to stretch out across lengthier, more progressive cuts like "Reality Bends" and "Obsession to Prosper," one finally glimpses Excalion's future success in the shape of his more ambitious orchestrations.

Until next time, then, this first salvo should serve as a solid and commendable debut.