Well this is one of my favourite bands, featuring the fastest gun in the east - Chris Impellitteri with the magnificent vocals of Rob Rock. This time round is their last album released in 1997 sadly I just got it this year. Something about Impellitteri I've noticed is that their albums are quite short in length. This album clocks the longest however, at over 44 mins. This release contains 2 ballads (surprise surprise) and the usual blazing, skull cracking, power and neo-classical influenced metal. Although I totally love this album. I find that Screaming Symphony has more 'power' to it. Now to the real review.
"Eye of the Hurricane" - Surprisingly this song is quite 'tame'. Didn't go the way I expected it's title implied. The song isn't as fast and furious as I thought it would be. The guitars are still great with the same power chords that most are expecting. But this is kinda lacking IMO. I don't know why, it's quite mid-paced.
"Shed Your Blood" - Now this gets me on my feet. 'When You shed Your Blood for me' made me give thanks to Jesus for shedding His Precious Blood for me. Chugga chugga rules here with the vocals making this a great party track. The guitar solo is really fast just as Chris Impellitteri said on the first album - Stand In Line (He promised that his solos will get faster and faster). The vocals are a little worked on here, making them have a bit of an echo. Great track should be the opening song IMO.
"Fuel For The Fire" The first 'single' from the album. Once someone hears this track, he/she will understand why this is also released as a separate 4 track "Fuel For The Fire' EP. The opening is slow and soulful. Breaking into the superb vocals of Rob Rock. Having short acoustic soloing (how does he do that?) that makes a person be wide-mouth like a goldfish(alrite bad description) but after like 30sec it morphs into a blazing song. With chugga chugga power chords making this so heavenly. The speed of this track shows how great this band is. This WILL get you headbanging. The drums can be heard with perfect clarity (great mixing).
"Race Into The Light" Ahhhhhhh Now you know why Chris Impellitteri is considered 1 of the best guitarist in the world. The riffs are just complementing the guitar solo and showing off of guitar skills by Chris Impellitteri over here. Just over 2 mins long will get you craving for more. He is just so precise with his 6-string.
"Bleed In Silence" This is another mid-paced track. Doesn't show off Chris Impellitteri skills, most it shows off Rob Rock's lower vocal style and the time-changes here. A mediocre track sadly.
"Master Of Disguise" The epic of this album. This is my favourite song off this album. It starts off with a low spoken part taking us back to the Garden of Eden during man's fall. The riffs, vocals, solo, drumming are perfect here. This is the highlight of the whole album. The chorus is the great anthem kinda stuff. Soon you'll find yourself singing 'Master master of disguise' along with Rob Rock. Sadly this only last like 4.30 mins.
"On And On" The first of the 2 ballads that are on the album. This is really good. Honestly. You'll see another side of Rob Rock's voice here. Not that his voice isn't emotional but this song adds a new dimension to his voice that most of us don't know existed. Slow plucking are the backbone here alongside the licks.
"Everything Is You" A rather silly name I would think. But this has all of them play a tad lower, then it turns slower once it passes the 2.30 mins mark. Picks things back up after half min or so. This is a forgettable piece.
"Kingdom Figher" This lifted my spirit after the disappointing piece - "Everything is You". Real heavy stuff going on here. The rhythms are simply fabulous. The power chords packs a HUGE punch. Pace slows downs after about 40 secs but no worries it is just for a while. 20 seconds later the energy is back and better than ever. This is why I am looking forward to other Impellitteri releases. The riffs are real fast, The solo switches from ultra fast to skillful.
"Halloween" The 2nd instrumental of the album. This piece once again has shown off Chris Impellitteri's superb skill. But less soloing than the first one, relies more on the riffs for the effects.
"Paradise" The final track of the album is the 2nd ballad. This song is really great. Starts with slow strumming which accompany the fine piano playing. Quite slow at first and the melody is really great. But after like 1.10 mins the pace picks up just a little and reverts back to the original slow pace. Rob Rock's vocals simply soars on this masterpiece , full of strength and emotion. What a great way to end the whole album. The guitar solo here is the finest outta whole album. Fast yet not just because of the speed but also the skill, the length and the great melody that it possesses.
This is the album for all melodic / power / neoclassical metal fans.
8/10
Similar sounding releases
2001Wisdom CallWisdom Call
2002FozzyHappenstance
2001NarniaDesert Land
1998Treasure SeekerTribute To The Past
2000Rob RockRage of Creation
2000LaudamusUnlimited Love
