Released by: JONO Music
Release Date: September 29th, 2023
Genre: Melodic Metal
Links: facebook.com/DestroyerOfDeath
LINE-UP:
Martin Simson: Bass
FEATURED ARTISTS:
Rob Rock: Lead and backing vocals
Jørn Lande: Lead and backing vocals (Master of All)
CJ Grimmark: Guitars, keyboards
Rex Carroll: Guitar solos on ‘Rapture’
Anders Köllerfors: Drums
Anders Johansson: Drums (Master of All)
Tracklist:
Destroyer
Holy Ground
Eternal Reign
Master of All
Rapture
Never Surrender
Dragon Defeated
War Within
Glory To The King
Master of All (remixed and remastered)
True story. When I first discovered the great vocals of Rob Rock, was way back some 20 years ago when I first heard the great Melodic Metal chops of Impelliterri. What a vastly underrated band (Chris Impellitteri rocks) and vocalist. I immediately pursued their whole back catalog, and not only that but realized that Rock had his solo material that followed and it was just as good as the stuff with Chris Impelliteri, “Holy Hell” being a personal favorite of mine. The last time I heard anything from Rob, was the last Impellitteri album in 2018, he is still as solid as ever with his ultra-melodic vocals. Is a real shame that he’s not as active as he once was, again like many US Melodic Metal voices, he belongs to a short group of amazing singers we have had over the years that should get a lot more recognition.
This new album from Martin Simson long-time heavy metal fan and musician, will probably fly under the radar, but it shouldn’t. It was put together a few years ago, they released a couple of singles that propelled this new studio album. It also caught the attention of guitar legend and friend, CJ Grimmark (Narnia, Jerusalem, Rob Rock, Empire 21). So you can expect the axe to be handled with precision and super sharp chops.
When I hear songs like “Holy Ground” super melodic and enticing with Rob’s patented vocals, as well as the uber clean and catchy “Eternal Reign”, this one reminds me of older Rob Rock material. Nice speedy gallop riffs action-packed, with some killer solos and tight drumming. The sticky keys here remind me so much of Euro Melodic Metal ala Beast in Black or Battle Beast super cool to hear this. Of course, you have the amazing guest vocals of Jorn Lande who catapults the song into the stratosphere, a great song featuring super melodic fretwork. Rob is a man of faith and has always sung about his beliefs in all of his music, perhaps none more prominently features than on “Glory to the King”, you can hear his every being into this song speaking it into existence, great range classic Rob Rock vocals!!!
This record features all the elements that made Rob Rock great in his solo and Impellitteri’s work. Super catchy hooks, nice groovy and melodic guitars, a job well done on the guitar solos and razor-sharp drums. Everything flows very well here and enjoyed the guest vocals of Lande because he’s yet another uber-talented vocalist and can sing just about anything. Don’t sleep on this one, topple the above-mentioned with great production and you have a top-notch slab of Melodic Metal how it’s meant to be done.
Score: 8/10
Reviewed by: Shadow Editor
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