(Spinefarm)
Rating: 7.0
That’s gotta be the worst album cover I’ve ever seen, I kid you not. Guaranteed not to sell very many tour shirts on the road, mark my words. Fortunately, the cover art is not a reflection of the material pressed onto disc.
For those that love it when this band travel their Stratovarian “do ya wanna go faster?” groove, you won’t be disappointed, because there’s plenty of speed to be heard. Of particular note are “Black Sheep” and “Land Of The Free”, two songs destined to become crowd favourites thanks to some brilliant hooks and earworm melodies.
The album’s strongest moments, in my opinion anyway, are featured in the toned-down tracks like “The End Of This Chapter”, “Sing In Silence” and monster epic “The Power Of One”. I dunno, maybe I’m too old to ride this rollercoaster.
The album could have done without including a re-recording of “San Sebastian” (from the Successor EP) and “Tallulah”, as they do nothing but take up valuable space. Expect great things from this band, even if their latest album falls short of greatness.