Rosebourg - Deathly Silence (2002)

I figured this Bulgarian band would be bad when I saw the following description on their webpage: "The boys are creative and how wonderful - full of fantasy!". And I was right. This is cheesy "progressive"/power metal, mid-tempo with melodic vocals and weak guitars. It reminds me of a slower version of the mid-90's Italian bands (Labyrinth, e.g.). The focus is more on hooks and vocals than on instrumental prowess. As such, the playing is very restrained. It's solid but even the guitar solos are conservative. And neither the vocals nor the songs are really strong enough, so this just comes off as watered-down. I'll call it "power metal without the power".

This demo is freely available from the band's website.