Review by Jophelerx on July 25, 2024.

Although the general opinion on the previous two albums, Nightfall in Middle-Earth and A Night at the Opera was very mixed, the consensus on this one seems to be that it's mediocre at best, and possibly Blind Guardian's furthest departure from their speed metal roots. While the latter may be true, I find this album far more than mediocre, though clearly not Blind Guardian's best.

This is the first full-length to feature new drummer Frederik Ehmke, and it shows. Gone are the refreshingly unusual drum beats Thomen Stauch frequently used; while proficient, Ehmke's style is much more traditional, the drums never standing out in the album. Still, this is not the main complaint about the album, as it's hardly an issue for most listeners; instead, the slick production and unusually simplistic songwriting are to blame. Unable to take the sound on A Night at the Opera any further, they opted to take a completely different approach, toning down the endless intricacies of the previous album until they reached a simple, unadorned, almost rock-ish set of songs. Those who were intimidated by A Night at the Opera's enormous, constant, busy sound won't find any of that here; this is catchy, stripped down power metal.

However, one problem people had with the previous album remains: many of the song's tend to focus on Hansi's vocals, rather than on the guitar riffs. This is the case here even more than on Nightfall or A Night at the Opera, but here it fits; the songs are infectiously catchy, for the most part. From the dark, theatrical "Otherland" to the fun, groovy "Fly" to the slightly more progressive, moody "The New Order", you'll find it difficult to keep from singing along to the choruses and even the verses. The malevolent rocker "Another Stranger Me", bombastic "Straight Through the Mirror", the obligatory medieval-style ballad "Skalds and Shadows", and the harsh, speedy "The Edge" are all worth listening to as well, making this far from a disappointment of an album. And despite the focus on vocals, it's impossible to miss the catchy solos and classic Blind Guardian guitar harmonizing on "Fly", or the repeating riff pattern in "The New Order"; while lacking a bit, the guitar work is certainly present.

Of course, this album is far from perfect, and some songs simply don't make the cut. "This Will Never End" tries to be speed metal, but with the slick production and focus on vocal melodies, it feels out of place and underwritten, despite a dark, epic chorus. "Turn the Page" tries to be an upbeat, bombastic number, but the songwriting here is clearly not up to par, and it builds up momentum only to let it fall into mediocrity, leaving the listener wanting more. "Carry the Blessed Home" is another ballad that never really goes anywhere, feeling like a complete waste of time. Finally, "Lionheart" is extremely simple and predictable and never really goes anywhere either, a surprisingly unambitious number for the power metallers.

Despite the clunkers, though, when this album works, it really works well, and I don't mind the slick production; though some would say it might castrate the music (and this may be the case with "This Will Never End" to an extent) I think for the most part it works well with the catchy, compact music. This will never be on my top 10 favorite albums list, but it's certainly enjoyable for what it is, and if you're a fan of catchy power metal, I definitely suggest checking it out.

Rating: 8.1 out of 10

Review by Death8699 on May 25, 2019.

Follow up release from the album Dawnbringer, this album reflects that of Satanic rock and roll but is considered to fit into the genre of black metal. The lineup consists of Tim on vocals, Brett on guitars, Kyle on guitars, Jeremy on bass and James on drums. I wouldn't consider this band to be within the black metal genre at all except for the vocals sounding a little bit like Legion from Devian/Marduk. There is much to be said about this band that I will orchestrate.

Musically, they have distorted tone guitars with way heavy blues influence to their sound. All of the songs reflect this and aren't very fast paced at all. They have a distinctive groove to them featuring rhythm guitars with a crunch tone to them and heavy rock influence. If there's something to say about this band, it would be that they're highly skilled in achieving their album title as well as a very unique style of black metal that's finely played out.

Every song contains guitars that aren't highly difficult to play if you're a guitarist. They feature palm muted riffs galore mixed with distinctive rhythms that are noteworthy and highly innovative. The lead guitar bits are highly technical and played out with vigor. They suit the rhythms quite well and the vocals are raspy with occasional change ups, but not many. Tempos of the guitars for the most part are like I've mentioned, slow especially on the instrumental track. There's a clean tone guitar mixed with lead bits.

Even the faster tracks are still not that fast like blast beating. The song entitled "Overthrone" is more on the black metal end than the rest of the songs. This band doesn't play anything that's overtly heavy. The distortion on the guitars make them sound more thrash metal based. This is featured throughout the album. Some songs darker than others. Most of them dark though with a little kick to them.

I haven't heard their debut release, so I cannot compare this one to their debut. Something new is here with this album that I have yet to hear which black metal is played with a rock and roll style of guitar rhythms. I'm still perplexed by this. Not many bands that I've heard play like this, but the lyrical contents are mindless. It's not difficult to sing about Satanism. What is difficult is to hear a band play rock and roll style of guitar work with these lyrical concepts.

The mixing/production sound was a little bit flat sounding especially on the drums. But the vocals, guitars, bass, and drums are still in there pretty solid and well mixed together to compliment the album. The production could've been better, but for an underground band, the "raw" sound encompassed the album well to make it into a decent release. I suppose that they made this album with that kind of sound to fit into the overall darker fix to them.

Something's happened here that never does happen with a black metal band and again that's to be that of one who plays guitars with a rock base to them. This album isn't overtly heavy, but highly original and unique. I suppose that you could say Unholy Rock and Roll really fits with the sound of this album. If you're into rock, you may even take a liking to this release. I thought that it was highly unique and noteworthy. They really did a good job with achieving their goal of sounding highly original. Pick this up!

Rating: 7.5 out of 10