The reformed band (they originally formed in 1979, getting their big break a few years later) release this fantastic new power metal album. This five piece present solos, power and finesse all in one. Opening with 'Nothing Left Behind', you get drum and guitar bursts a la modern Saxon with melodic operatic backing vocals.

The structure is deep without being prog metal, and this is solid yet almost too good and too polished to be power metal, you get the idea.

'Battleground For Suicide' picks things up, the machine gun drums take you close to melodic speed metal.

The album continues in a similar vein, although on 'Conspiracy' the vocals become rather rough, of the extreme kind, but some decent vocals soon return.

If you like your power metal fast, heavy, brutal, yet melodic, polished and coherent, you'll love this.

****

Review by Joe Geesin