Once upon a time, at the dawn of the 80s, guitarist Jack Starr and singer David DeFeis were heralded as the premier American metal export, Virgin Steele. After unceremonious fallout, the stringbender has been out on his own. His latest effort features nine new originals, a cover of Dio era Rainbow’s ‘Catch The Rainbow’ and a live rendition of ‘Evil Never Sleeps’ (originally found on 1986’s "No Turning Back"), as performed at the Magic Circle Fest in ’08. Since being taken under the auspices of Joey DeMaio, the songwriting appears to be Manowar outtakes, structurally. Try the piano accompanied opening to the title track: "When the world has grown cold and all have forsaken me, I will not falter or stray. I’ll fight till the end. I’ll never give in, as long as I live and I breathe."

‘Indian Nation’ is one notable exception, stereotypical Native chant and drumming introduce the first third, although the tribal rhythm continues when the rock instruments are introduced. The vocalist is no Eric Adams, but one could envision him screaming his way through these tracks, although there is some top end on ‘Day Of The Reaper’. ‘Inquisitor’ mixes Queen Isabella and Christopher Columbus with the Spanish Inquisition and religious conversion through torture. Odd bedfellows! ‘Once And Future King’ begins with a recitation of a portion of the Lord’s Prayer.