Another in the production line of power metal albums, and as with most bands of this genre, there is nothing new here. There are the stock-standard faster metallic songs, interspersed with the two or three comfortable soft metal ballads, that announce themselves full of keyboards and strings.
Edguy are a band that I have given a lot of time to over recent years, probably mainly because they bothered to tour Australia (at least twice) when our dollar was a poor performer on the world stage. And a lot of their stuff I enjoy – especially Mandrake which is the album I first heard of theirs. However, as with most power metal bands that like to dabble in the ballad, I feel it is their downfall. It does just halt the progress of the album. “The Spirit Will Remain” is one of those songs here on Hellfire Club. The fact that it is also the final song on the album (barring bonus tracks) is also a mistake. It kills the entire mood of the album, and defeats the conscious thoughts of listening to it all over again.
Fortunately, the remainder of the album is saved by songs like the terrific “We Don’t Need A Hero” raising this album’s ranking in the long run, and containing the flying drums and guitars along with Tobias Sammat’s amazing vocal range that make this band what they are at their best. The positives here outweigh the negatives however. The album begins wonderfully well with “Mysteria”, and clambers along with help from great tunes such as “Down to the Devil”, “King of Fools” and “Under The Moon”, showcasing the best that this band has to offer. In so many ways, bands of this genre can be far too similar in style and substance. If its done well, though, none of that matters. Hellfire Club is one of those albums.
Rating: Another great effort from the lads. 3.5/5.
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