(Rated this album with 8 out of 10) Reviewed by
Andrew Munkres
from US
I'm a big fan of power/melodic metal bands like Accept, Iron Maiden, In Flames, Dio, Loudness, Raven, Saxon, etc., and I bought this because I had heard much praise of Manowar. However, I was disappointed by this album. Apart from the solos, the guitar playing on this album is fairly simplistic compared to those bands. This album sounds similar to Saxon, but IMO lacks the utter forcefulness of that band's music. The production on this album wasn't very good either, it's very clear-sounding, but it lacks the intensity of the best power/melodic metal albums such as Raven's "All For One", Accept's "Restless & Wild", Krokus' "One Vice at a Time", & In Flames' "Clayman". I would bet that Manowar's early albums are much better than this though, and probably the newer albums also, so I haven't given up on the band yet. The best song on this album is probably either "Violence & Bloodshed" or "Defender".
