Oh thank you finally a new album from this band that isn't a waste of time. Tim Owen's albums were pure shite and then the garbage filler that has been so present in the last ten years worth of music is also on a holiday this time round. Blocker takes the band to a height vocally they haven't been in a very, very long time. His deep register isn't quite thick enough like Chuck Billy but when he does a little high shriek line or two now and again that is super tasty to my ears. The band seem to be just that finally a band even though Jon Schaffer is the master and the others are his soldiers. He leads them into battle this time with a winning epic which is about bloody time. I don't think Barlow could have done anything for this band at this point.What makes this record a success is the fact that the songs are just songs that begin and end in a timely manner losing much of the epic ideals and just being decent ideas concise in their delivery. The lessened progressive metal and the turning up of the power metal makes this one of the years better metal records. A little weak in the production end where bigger vocal production with some killer bottom end on the deeper aggressive parts ala FFDP or Testament this would have been a metal classic.
The album kicks off with three solid heavy metal tunes that get your adrenalin going then give way into a mid-paced number allowing us listeners to catch our breath. The song is actually a pretty tight number with some nice acoustic guitars mixed in which adds a nice dimension to the metallic assault. Be ready to crank up the volume when "V" starts and delivers and very heavy Judas Priest styled rhythm to bang your head along to. From Priest the boys visit Iron Maiden for inspiration next which I just freaking love. "Dark City" is a total winner and it makes me miss Iron Maiden a little. The band continue to satisfy my liquid metal blood right to the conclusion of the album. This is finally an album that the band can go out and perform live in near entirety and the crowds will be happy to punch air and mosh along to without even noticing the missing favorites from their back catalog.
If you are a metal fan this album should be a solid addition to your listening rotation. It's ebb and flow is great because every song sounds different from each other which never becomes stale or boring as it plays beginning to end.
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