The 6th album by this band has been a long time coming. More of the band's lineup is intact than most bands whose careers reach back to the 70s. Greg Lindstrom and Robert Garven formed the band back in 1971. With vocalist Tim Baker joining them for their first album. Baker's snarl still works really well. Does he still have the Rob Halford-like wail that he carried for "Frost and Fire"? No, he is 66 years old. Rob Halford does not sound like Rob Halford did in 1981. I think the weathered pipes of Baker sound more metal now. These guys have gotten a helluva a lot heavier if you compare this to their earlier work. More importantly to my ears, they also sound darker. There is a less proto-doom sound and more of a crushing thrashed-out power metal feel.
The guitars rip and thanks to excellent production find the guitars dialed in with just the right crunch, that is organic enough to honor the time they are from, but holding the sonic weight of their younger peers. They are not galloping like they once did, but digging into a more deliberate chug for songs like "Looking Glass" that is more mid-paced, almost finding a groove that brings Testament's cover of "Nobody's Fault to" to mind. The only Sabbath comparisons I have heard on this album are in the solo section to this song and it reminds me more of the Dio Sabbath years. The guitar player is killing it when it comes to solos. They are kind of jammed out and extended at times, but it works for what they are doing. Baker even dips down into more of a growl at times.
The title track is the first that finds the band sounding their age. It is also slower and moving in a more doom-oriented direction. They have already proven themselves better than this on this album, so it feels a little like filler to me. Granted their filler is better than what most bands can muster on a good day. When they put their minds to a riff like the one that powers "Distant Shadows" they prove they are one of the most underrated classic metal bands ever. There are moments of clean melodic guitars used to provide a dynamic shift, which generally works well. They are more bombastic on the last song, though not as catchy as they were on the previous album. The weight they hit you with is impressive as it at times reminds me of bands like Dark Angel and Forbidden. I will give this album a 9. It drops on Metal Blade on October 20th and is a lesson for older bands on how to stay vital.
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