The typical Finnish Power Melodic-death Metal hybrid sound is almost instantly-recognizable. Hailing from Turku, Finland, the self-labeled "Epic Melodic Death Power" quintet GLADENFOLD unleashed their debut album after a quite considerable number of demos and EPS.

"From Dusk to Eternity" is a record that combines the most quintessential elements of your typical Finnish Melodic Metal band, though in a not-so-compelling way. In other words,  an amalgamation of Power  riffs, a combination of clean and growled male vocals, heavy use of symphonic elements (which actually sound very synthetic) just for the sake of the so-called epicness.

One of the high points of this album is the beautifully written into entitled  "From Dusk..." that would most definitely  lure any fan of that style to venture into the album before the next track comes in, and in my case, it was nothing like what I expected. Having no knowledge of the band and their style beforehand, all I was expecting is another so called symphonic "Gothic" Metal "fantasy opera" or so, all due to that two minute opener as well as the cover artwork.
Other than that, the musicianship of the band is undeniably top notch. solid song writing with catchy tracks, crunchy riffs, beautiful melodies.. etc. But above all, Esko Itälä showcased impeccable vocal performance, alternating clean and harsh vocals in a very distinctive way that you never tell it's the same vocalist, besides partially taking care of guitar duties.

Overall, it's not an outstanding album per se, considering your run-of-the-mill bands who have done the very same thing for decades now, still I think it's worth giving a shot if you're really into that kind of stuff.