In 1997, Frank Andiver (Franco Rubulotta) and Ken Taylor (Luca Contini) left the band (however they took part in the composing of "Return to Heaven Denied"); and Rob Tyrant (Roberto Tiranti), Mat Stancioiu (Mattia Stancioiu) and Andrew McPauls (Andrea De Paoli) were brought in as their replacements. All the while, some of the big metal labels showed an interest on the band's new demo and finally Metal Blade Records made an offer and the band joined the label. It took six months to record the second album "Return To Heaven Denied" and before its release the band took part in that summer's metal main event: "Gods of Metal", together with some of heavy metal's biggest acts such as Black Sabbath, Pantera, Helloween, Blind Guardian, etc. "Return To Heaven Denied" was a success among fans and metal magazines alike, and it gave a strong push not only to the career of the band, but also to the Italian metal scene as a whole.