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Assassin's Blade; there's a band name that screams heavy metal. This Canadian/Swedish conglomerate are up to their second album with Gather Darkness and it is a fine collection of bruising traditional metal, full of pounding drums, slashing riffs and air raid siren vocals. There's a good mix of speed ("Tempt Not [the Blade of the Assassin]") and mid-tempo ("Call of the Watch") material with a hint of progressiveness ("Dream Savant") that in no way saps the music of any power. There are no weak tracks, so the album marches relentlessly over the course of 45+ minutes. Fans of Priest (circa Painkiller), Ravage and Crimson Glory should be all over this.