It takes about 5 seconds into the first track, "Quest For Immortality," to know what to expect from this album. Oh, you're still struggling? Allow me to help out. They're Italian. They're on Underground Symphony Records. The album cover is an elaborate painting of a beautiful ocean vessel and a dragon. All kidding and sarcasm aside, you may at least rest assured that this is neoclassical speedy power metal of the highest order. Singer Alessio Garavello, who incidentally provides the powerful pipes for U.K. power metal upstarts POWER QUEST as well, is clearly professionally trained and doesn't hide his influences. It's fairly safe to say that if you're a fan of the vocal style made famous by HELLOWEEN, RHAPSODY, DOMINE, LABYRINTH, PRIMAL FEAR, DREAM THEATER and others, this album will fit like your favorite pair of concert jeans. The 2 twin lead guitarists - Matteo Ballottari & Andrea Martongelli - are also shredders who in all likelihood spent a good deal of their youth listening to Kai Hansen, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, Adrian Smith/Dave Murray, and their numerous clones. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Hell, if you're going to pay homage to people, at least pay homage to those who blazed the paths this album walks down. ARTHEMIS isn't going to win any points for originality, but I will say this for them: unlike many of their Italian metal-scene peers, they've decided to go short on the symphonic elements, and go all out on the speedier-than-a-runaway-train elements. To further help them stand apart from the pack, the riffs are for the most part meatier, the bass thicker, the songs actually a bit simpler than the 100s of other bands that fill this space - "Starchild" is a superb example of how to create a brilliant modern power metal song - though there seriously are late-1980s HELLOWEEN moments literally all over the record. I think "The Night Of The Vampire" was in all likelihood and outtake from Keeper Of The Seven Keys, Pt. I. In fact, I'm told Keeper Of The Seven Keys, Pt. III was considered as a title to this album. Ok, fine, I'm just kidding. All things considered, The Damned Ship is done extremely well. The production and obvious musical talent are top-notch; the album just loses some points for originality, or lack thereof. My other pet peeve is that considering the record has 9 songs, I have to question why 2 of them are instrumentals. I would have preferred a lengthy epic with some progressive tendencies, though that certainly wouldn't have hindered additional comparisons to HELLOWEEN or even IRON MAIDEN. Oh well. If you're a diehard of well-played, catchy, guitar-driven neoclassical power metal, get this record. It'll be right up your alley. If not, you probably aren't missing anything you've already dismissed.