The musicianship is stellar, the vocals draw you in, and you can’t avoid bouncing your head and wishing you could hit the high notes so you could sing along.
When ya open with a barnstormer like the title track, it’s hard to settle into the Lord of the Rings-esque symphonic doofiness of the rest of the record.
A collection of dated keyboard tones, unbridled storyteller’s pomp, and most importantly, exotic vocal melodies and underlying musical accompaniment thereof.
I hear hooky Priest in here, Blackout-era Scorpions, Bruce-era Samson, along with the vocal twang of that old Malice guy, and the humorous side of Helloween.
Drunken romps thru blue collar booze cans, wandering widely within that pigpen to the odd poppy ballad, the odd boogie woogie, a li’l AC/DC, a li’l Wildhearts.