by Brian O'Neill

Though the band's biography promises that album number two has a "bold, modern sound," Passage to the Other Side is really more of the same from the band's debut: anthemic power metal with screaming guitars, ear-splitting percussion, and robust, operatic vocals. The disc will ring true for fans of Manowar and Judas Priest -- in addition to the small but devoted legion of worldwide fans who reverently follow young upstarts such as Primal Fear -- especially given the band's lineage (this is ex-Armored Saint bassist Joey Vera's first disc as a member of the group; he joined after producing Xiled to Infinity and One, and he produces Passage as well). However, if you're not in league, Seven Witches will only serve to confirm the cheesiness inherent in the genre.