Picture this.....we have a band from Hamburg Germany playing a blend of True and Power Metal with some influences from the older Helloween style. They manage to not only get Kai Hansen (ex-Helloween now with Gamma Ray) to let them use his studio to record, but to engineer and produce their first full length album for them. Wait....it gets better....Kai also contributes some great vocals on Chains Of Slavery (a killer track!!) and even sings and plays guitar on the bonus track, (digi-pack only) a cover of the classic Helloween song, Heavy Metal (Is The Law), also featuring Markus Grosskopf (Helloween) on bass. To top it off, Dirk Schlachter (Gamma Ray) contributes some lead guitar work. Sound like the recipe for a great album????.....you bet!!!

What impressed me so much on the first listen to this band was how much they have captured the sound and feel of Helloween's Wall Of Jericho album. I was very close to dismissing this band as simply a copy-cat band but, with each listen, the power and quality of this band really comes to light. Every song is in the typical older Helloween Power Metal style, very fast with lots of drum and lead guitar fills along with the trademark speed-riffing. The lead guitar playing is outstanding with lots of very fast speed runs and lots of dual harmony leads to add lots of excitement to the tracks. The only real difference is in the vocal delivery. Thunder Axe (yes..that's his name!) has a voice that sounds very much like Kai Hansen most of the time and can really let out the high pitched Halford-style Heavy Metal screams. He has a more grittier tone to his voice which at times also reminds me a bit of Biff Byford from Saxon. He has a perfect voice for this style of True Metal and sings with lots of desperation and passion. The typical bombastic gang-style choruses are heard throughout as well on most tracks and the more aggressive vocal style also brings Grave Digger to mind as some tracks have some of the feel of the Tunes Of War and Knights Of The Cross albums. Other elements of their music are very reminescent of older Blind Guardian, Running Wild and Hammerfall( Glory To The Brave album) and some of the very fast drum parts and shredding guitar have a recklessness that I haven't heard since the first 2 Iron Maiden albums.

I can't credit this band for being all that original and I would've preferred a few tracks with some different tempos. After the first listen, every track starts to sound the same. With repeated listens, subtle differences start to appear and it really hits you as a total sonic assault...a blast of 80's style Power Metal. All of the music is killer but a couple of tracks suffer from somewhat weak choruses. The only thing that makes this band more of a True Metal outfit is the subject matter of the lyrics. Every track is about battles, warlords, glorious victories over evil tyrants and standing side-by-side in battle.....you get the picture. The lyrics are very descriptive and the vocal lines delivered with a stunning effectiveness. Listening to this album makes you want to pick up a sword and go charging into battle!!

These types of bands tend to get a little cheesy sounding, but once in a while, a band like this just gets everything right and delivers a killer Heavy Metal album. This debut for me ranks up there with those from Dream Evil and Lost Horizon and just reaches out and grabs you by the throat right from the first song and doesn't let go. Kai Hansen even stated on the forum section of the Gamma Ray website, when asked about this band, that they were trying to make an album that captured the spirit of the Walls of Jericho album. They have succeeded in that, and more. This is one of the best and most enjoyable True Metal albums I've ever heard......It's very addictive and I can't stop playing it!!!......The Bretheren are fighting side by side in defense of Metal...........HAIL!!!!