Review by Adam M on June 10, 2015.

This is George Kollias’ attempt at solo material and, as there hasn’t been any Nile material in a while, I was excited to give this a spin. I’m pleased to say that the drumming on Invictus is absolutely spectacular and the strongest part of the material. The rest of the musicianship is very tight and complements the songs quite nicely, however.

What I’m most happy about with this album is that it sounds like a great death metal record and not just an outlet for instrumental representation. There is a great deal of focus with these songs as they aim to exert a death metal presence. There is also a crisp and powerful production job that allows these songs to have potency. Since there haven’t been too many great albums from that genre this year, this competes nicely with the Sulphur Aeon and Alkaloid album and brightens things up greatly. Invictus certainly has a good amount of speed and ferocity to compete head to head with the former release in particular. In terms of a comparison to Nile, there is less of a Middle Eastern influence to the music and more of a Medieval one. Thus there is a variety of types of music for fans of that band to listen to now with the addition of this project. The biggest issue with this album is indeed in the lack of originality. Some of the material has been done to a similar extent by numerous other death metal acts. However, the timing of the release of Invictus is appropriate for death metal.

This is certainly not an album to pass over with thoughts that nothing new has been brought to the table. Although it’s difficult to say whether this will be the next In Their Darkened Shrines or Annihilation of the Wicked, this album resonates with me more strongly than recent Nile efforts.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Adam on March 3, 2002.

For years Stuck Mojo have been a major driving force within America’s underground hard rock/metal scene. With Declaration of a Headhunter, they take their greatest aim at mainstream success while still staying true to their hard-hitting sound. The result is Stuck Mojo‘s catchiest material to date! Being the band’s final release, it is also a testament to their many years of struggling and hard work.

The album’s music and lyrics were written completely by guitarist/vocalist Rich Ward. His lyrics are politically charged and thought provoking while his music is extremely stylish and original. Stuck Mojo have always featured various vocal styles on their albums. This one has the least amount of hip hop oriented vocals, which many metal fans have criticized in the past. This time around there is a greater emphasis on the soulful and melodic clean vocals of new bassist Dan Dryden. These vocals really help to enhance the incredibly melodic yet punchy guitar licks. Many of the dual guitar harmonies sound like they could have easily been placed on any melodic death metal cd.

The song structures are pretty similar to past efforts, yet the rapping verses have been trimmed down, leaving less room for lead vocalist Bonz. Those doubting the band’s credibility as true and talented musicians will be shut up once and for all with the amazing instrumental track The Ward Is My Shephard.

One of the greatest things about this disc is the quality of the actual music and production. The sound eminence is very sharp and the production is flawlessly handled by Andy Sneap. This is clearly the band’s most focused and mature album and a fine one to leave behind as the last hurrah. It brings together everything Stuck Mojo stood for in the past while injecting the most catchiest hooks the band has ever recorded. Never before has a rap/metal release come along and not become so blunt and ridiculous that you want to just puke it up. This is genuine hard rock/metal music well deserving of your hard earned money.

Bottom Line: If you like catchy hard rock/heavy metal music full of energy and soul, then this is for you!

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Originality: 8
Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 10
Overall: 9

Rating: 8.8 out of 10