Well, it's definitely NOT "Resurrection". Not even "Crucible"... "Made Of Metal" signifies a kinder, gentler Metal God, sort of Fight-Lite, or a Desmond Child collaboration without the ubiquitous pop talent aboard. If that's not enough to scare you (slightly), have a listen to the lyrics, which cover NASCAR, bullfighting, boxing... all sort of macho bullshit, the same stuff Rob Halford, as a gay man, has had to endure and fight against his entire life. Strange to embrace it lyrically. The initial third (five songs) are good enough to wonder aloud if they came from a separate writing session and stand well above the rest of the material. The double bass driven 'Fire & Ice' gets close to the piston pumping Priest. Shades of "Turbo", or worse yet, 'Mr. Roboto' (Styx) with the cheesy opening modulated voiceover of the title cut. From there, the song's lyrics don't improve any. Ye-haw, the southern twang of acoustic guitar kicks off the slide guitar 'Till The Day I Die'. Acoustics also crop up on the ballad 'Twenty-Five Years', while 'Thunder And Lightning' is simple and old school, in the 'Metal Gods'/'Cheater' mold. Another case where 14 tracks are too much, a little judicious pruning (most notably the middle of the album, namely 'We Own The Night', an aptly entitled 'Heartless' and 'Hell Razor', as well as the jangly U2 inspired pop of the next to last 'I Know We Stand A Chance') would have delivered a more (cohesive) enjoyable effort.

Overall, decent, just not up to his previous standards.