Last year’s debut “Gateways Of Eternity” was one of the highlights for me. Accordingly, I was more than curious and excited for the follow-up. However, “Echoes Of Ancient Tales” does not leave quite as excellent an impression as its predecessor. This is partly due to the quality of the debut, but also to several other factors. Objectively speaking, nothing has changed. DOLMEN GATE still operates in the territory between Epic and traditional Heavy Metal, mostly at a mid-tempo pace, and Ana’s vocals give the songs a distinctive character. Also the songwriting continues to impress with a certain dynamism. But everything seems a little too thought out and too formulaic and mechanically. The production, which is too sterile at least for my ears, contributes to this impression. Do not get me wrong, the music ist still above average. That is kind of the “no good deed goes unpunished” thing – you put out an amazing album, and the next one only ends up being good. So if you liked “Gateways Of Eternity” and / or have a preference for female fronted Epic Metal then I see no reason why you should not like “Echoes Of Ancient Tales” either. Everyone else can form their opinion by visiting www.facebook.com/dolmengate or www.facebook.com/noremorserecordsgreece