This is the band’s fourth album, and the second after their comeback. They have a knack for writing some seriously catchy rock songs and that seems to be dying art these days.
The album kicks off with Barbarian which was a lead off single, and has is typical Darkness – a nice fat riff with catchy hook and chorus. Open Fire starts off with a picked chord that sounds like early Cult, before an AC/DC straight rocker takes over. The title track follows with an acoustic intro that sounds a bit Eurovision until the middle eight. Roaring Waters has a very nice funky riff to start with a very unusual hook and chorus. Wheels Of The Machine is a slow acoustic driven piece. Mighty Wings kicks off with a keyboard intro that’s very reminiscent of Buggles, until normal service is resumed with a floor to the floor riff and groove. Then we change it up again with a very Queen hook and chorus. This is the best track so far! Mudslide has an Aerosmith sounding riff with a straight up groove. Sarah O Sarah is the weakest song on the album for me. Hammer And Tongs starts with a straight up Quo like boogie and stays for the whole song. Conquerors close out the album and is a lighters-in-the-air type of tune.
This is not a bad album, but also it’s not a great album.
7.5/10 from The Grooveman.
