This German Power metal band gets it right wehre other bands of this genre wimp out and get too happy. They have a mean guitar sound that carries a hammering chug. There is a dose of melodrama. The keep the guitars to a respectable level, and aweighty chug giving it some balls. Vocally, there is grit to his voice; he does not sound like he wants to be in Helloween despite being from Germany. At 58, age wisely keeps Roberto grounded; he is not doing much falsetto yodeling and belting everything from his chest register, which plays to his favor, and he does an excellent job of using what he does have to work with.
They keep everything at a very fist-pumping tempo. The dynamics are subtle, but it is clear they are skilled songwriters who are true to the genre without sounding more dated than the genre tends to root itself in a certain era of the 80s; they bring some fire of their own to. 'Don't Run Away" does find being so devoted to this style beginning to be a little limiting, so we will see how they keep this going. The double bass gets poured on for "Angels are Falling". The drummer is working over time on this one and it pays off.
Lyrically, we are to our ears in heavy metal mish-mash, marching with swords and such. Thankfully, the more anthemic elements on a song like "When the Hammer Will Fall" find chugs balancing it out, almsot more like Tyr than Iced Earth. Granted, this is still very European, but it is aware that heavier music came out in the 90s and uses those tools. "My Inner Innocence" embraces a more melodic dynamic without becoming a glorified power ballad. Granted, they are not as nuanced as what Kamelot would do, but then again, they do not allow themselves to be pulled into power ballads, where Kamelot will sadly fall into. "Devil's Son" works better for me than the last song, which is about Vikings again. I will give this a 9.5, on the basis of how well done this is and the fact it brings some guts to a genre that need them.
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