Ελληνικά
Last Updated on 01:41 AM by Giorgos Tsekas
Genre: N.W.O.B.H.M./Heavy Metal
Country: U.K./England
Label: Metal Nation Records
Year: 2013
Blitzkrieg’s comeback was to be expected. After Satan’s return proved to be both commercially and artistically successful (highly praised by audiences and critics alike), the equally legendary band hope to grab a their share of success, just like the Satan did with ‘Life Sentenced’, with their 8th album (the first one after six years of silence), entitled ‘Back From Hell’.
There’s no need to lie, it’s not as good as ‘Life Sentenced’ for the simplest of reasons: even though Brian Ross is in terrific form, he is working with better songwriters/musicians in Satan. Ken Johnson and Allan Ross (Brian’s son) are fine, but they are not Ramsey and Tippins and their riffs’ quality seems like a step down. Yet another version of the legendary but overworked by the band ‘Buried Alive’ (we could live without it), a shot at experimenting with female vocals that didn’t impress me in ‘Complicated Issue’, a (meaningless) cover of Metallica’s ‘Seek And Destroy’ (I’d prefer ‘Ride the Lightning’ or nothing at all) and even a tribute to Judas Priest using song titles of theirs and imitating Halford’s vocals (like Megadeth did -for their own selves- in ‘Victory’ from 1994’s ‘Youthanasia’) are probably not helping the final grade I would give to what is indeed a good but not that strong album. ‘V”s lyrics are about Guy Fawkes and ‘V for Vendetta’ (a similar themed song of the same title was on 2011’s ‘Dystopia’ by Iced Earth) and it’s a very good song, and so are ‘Sleepy Hollow’ and ‘Back from Hell’, compositions that stand out.
The record has more (many) good moments and they will be enough to please the fans, while the general atmosphere is reminiscent of 1995’s ‘Unholy Trinity’, a good and often overlooked album, the cover and the Jack The Ripper-related lyrics obviously not being the only similarities. An album certainly recommended to Blitzkrieg’s (and Ross’s) fans and N.W.O.B.H.M. fanatics.
3,5/6
