After being blown away by 2005’s Holy Hell, I was more than amped up for the next platter of traditional kick ass metal that Rob Rock was prepared to serve up. Garden of Chaos opens up in a chaotic way with the title track sending this metal head into a complete frenzy.

The opening of this tune is so heavy that I had visions of rabid metal heads moshing out of control in a European outdoor festival setting such as Wacken Open Air. This song gets the album off on the right track as it is infectious with a strong chorus and great arrangements. “Satan’s Playground” may be my favorite song on the album and it has a very cool touch to it. I noticed in the vocal delivery of each verse the song sounds very similar to “Creatures of the Night” by Kiss. I do not know if this was done on purpose or it is just a coincidence but it is pretty awesome as it only lasts for several moments as each verse starts. “This Time is the Last Time” sounds as if it could be a hit on US mainstream radio. I would give up a nut to hear something great like this on the radio compared to the majority of the crap we do get. “Only A Matter of Time” deals with the end of the world and with its great lyrics and sharp arrangements it made me feel as if it were what is known in Christianity as “the End Times” and that Christ’s arrival was around the corner. “Unconditional” is a very cool ballad adding a calmer touch to a mostly upbeat and heavy album. It is clear to me why Rob Rock has a spot at the one and only ProgPower 9 festival this fall in Atlanta, Georgia. Rob continues to release rock solid albums one after the other and shows no signs of slowing down. For those of you unfamiliar with Rob chances are if you dig Firewind, Edguy, and Helloween you will be a fan. Rob Rock fuses great power metal with fist pumping hard rock and the results are truly a winner. Garden of Chaos is one of the better albums of 2007 and will not be far from my cd player anytime during 2008.