Some say you can only choose between booze and making music when you're a youngster in Finland. Five young Finnish gents chose the second option, started EXCALION - and are on their way to success. "High Time" is EXCALION's third album - stylistically, the band hovers between Sonata Arctica, Nocturnal Rites, Stratovarius, Thunderstone and Lovex, without losing any of its own musical identity. "High Time" is a versatile mixture of classic Progressive Metal elements, intoxicating melodies and a decent heaviness. The boys started as a fun project in the quaint village of Konnevesi (pop.: 3000), but sure have established themselves as a serious Metal outfit in the scene right now.

In 2000, keyboardist Jarmo "Jappe" Myllyvirta founded the band - it consisted of drummer Henri Pirkkalainen (drums), Tero Vaaja (guitar), Timo Sahlberg (bass) and Jarmo Pääkkönen (vocals) who joined them later. The direction was clear, even then: melodic Power Metal. The average age of that line-up was between 17 and 19 years, they were highly motivated and wrote their first songs in this constellation. A year later, the band played their first shows in local venues, the set list mainly offering cover versions of Nightwish and Stratovarius stuff. At that time, Kimmo Hänninen joined them as second axe man. This line-up recorded a first official demo in just two days time. In spite of their commitment and great effort, the years 2002 and 2003 passed by with no big news - Jarmo wrote news songs and the band's performance improved more and more. Although their budget was really tight, the Finns released their second demo in spring 2003: five tracks were recorded, showing off the progressive and the tough side of the band. This passionate demo aroused international interest, and a small Portuguese label signed the band. During 2004, the recordings for the debut album (featuring some brand new songs as well as revamped versions of older material) started - in 2005, "Primal Exhale", featuring ten songs, was released also in, among other countries, Japan (by Stay Gold/Art Union including the bonus track "Lady Moon"). They didn't publish too many copies, so the album was sold out really quickly and is hard to get these days. But 2005, the line-up underwent a first change: last man aboard Kimmo Hänninen was first man offboard. Not long after this blow, bass player Timo Sahlberg left the combo - but they didn't throw in the towel. Vesa Nupponen was the man adding new guitar zest to EXCALION, and former guitarist Tero Vaaja took up the bass position. So much for the make-over - the band was complete again. Musically, EXCALION has developed in the meantime: less Prog and less overlong songs - back to basics was the motto. In May 2006, the studio works for the second album began, and just a few weeks later, they were done - but the release was delayed due to label problems. But all's well that ends well, and the band was able to release their second album under the sails of German label Limb Music.

 "Waterlines" was released worldwide in spring 2007 andgot excellent reviews by fans and media: "... is totally convincing and demonstrates impressively that EXCALION have come into their own as musicians and songwriters..." or "... 'Waterlines' is catchy, punchy, and delicious…”. The band knew that they had done everything right so far, reaching a new level - but thatled to the problem where to go next musically. The complete songwriting process stalled somehow. The band played a couple of shows in 2008 and took a longer break, just in case...

At the beginning of 2009, they started working at new material and discovered that the break had rekindled the old creativity and chemistry. Fresh ideas, surprising songs and the chance to cooperate with Limb Music again, spurred the boys even more. At the end of July 2009, they were in Watercastle studio yet another time and started the recordings for their third album. Merely a month later, the product was finished: "High Time" saw the light of day.

"High Time" is an album full of nice surprises proving that EXCALION have honed their skills even more after their previous two releases, sticking to their trademarks while sounding fresh and motivated. The mixture of Progressive, Melodic and Power Metal elements is well-balanced and not just a collection of stereotype song structures - just check out "Firewood", a more mid-tempo oriented track with a great melody and sophisticated keyboards. Vocalist Jarmo Pääkkönen is very versatile which helps the songs enormously - on "The Flags In Line", an extremely emotional song, Jarmo demonstrates the impressive scope of his voice (this track also features a lot of excellent solo work, too, by the way). Upbeat, forward "Bring On The Storm" is a wild contrast to the otherwise very melodic songs spiced with subtle Prog parts. On "The Shroud", EXCALION strut their stuff and show off their musical skills without adding to much weight to the track. "High Time" won't disappoint any Melodic Metal fan digging classy melodic songs with some progressive elements.

Line-Up:
Jarmo Pääkkönen - vocals
Jarmo "Jappe" Myllyvirta - keyboard
Vesa Nupponen - guitar
Tero Vaaja - bass
Henri Pirkkalainen - drums

Tracklisting:
01. Enter A Life 4:07
02. From Somewhere To Anywhere 3:48
03. Sun Stones 4:52
04. The Flags In Line 6:16
05. Bring On The Storm 4:51
06. The Shroud 4:35
07. Firewood 4:44
08. Lifetime 3:33
09. Quicksilver 4:10
10. A Walk On A Broken Road 5:11
11. Foreversong 4:05

Genre: Melodic Metal
Release Date: 29. January 2010