One of the new, exciting group of youngsters plying a no frills, vintage metal sound, relying on guitars and melodies, rather than visuals, provocation or some other ancillary, non-musical trait, to create a buzz. OK, initially the orange on black, bumble bee outfits one-upped Stryper, but without the songs, they'd only have been a laughing stock. No such commentary, except, ironically, from the bearded, pierced and tattooed sect, saying how funny they look.

For this, their third album, label literature claims they've departed the glorious territory of John Arch-era Fates Warning meets Queensryche's Ep, first single/video, a powerful romp entitled ‘Lady Liberty’ (thankfully!) proves otherwise. Not as immediate as past efforts, the sound is fuller and more mature, but no less enticing for traditional/classic metal fans. It's Stephan Dietrich's searing high pitched voice that invokes any “Spectre Within”/”Awaken The Guardian” references. Listen to the time changes in ‘Scripted Reality’. The castanets on ‘Long Way Of Redemption’ are unexpected, as is the Hammond organ/piano in the ‘Closer Than Yesterday’ ballad, which owes a tip of the hat to commercialized 80s MTV hard rockers, like Journey. Speaking of old school vibes, check out the 70s wah wah guitars to open ‘Revolution In Progress’, while the title cut features spirited guitar and active drumming. A return to speed ‘Shut Up & Think’ has a poignant message behind it, before the acoustic-tinged ‘This World Will Burn’ wraps up a sophisticated effort from one of Germany's brightest hopes. Digi-pak adds a DVD of their 2013, eight-song Bang Your Head appearance, a perfect place for novices to start, sampling the best of the initial two platters, in a live setting.