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Hard to believe it's been 20 years since the glory days of Condition Red and Battering Ram for this band. It's also hard to believe how long it's been since they made an album I just flat-out liked, without any asterisks attached to it. Truth be told, I was hesitant to dig into this, because for a long time now Iron Savior albums have settled into a late-career groove of being decent but not great, and this one doesn't really change that up.

I want to like this more than I do, and on the surface all the elements are here. The riffs are solid, the vocals are strong, with those triumphant backing vocals Piet does so well. The production is out of that mid-period slump where the guitars were mashed into the background, and if it's not as heavy as the old days, it sounds pretty good. The songwriting is pro and polished and obviously the result of decades of experience and expertise, and yet it just doesn't stick. This sounds good while it is on, but even after multiple listens, I can't remember a thing about it, and I end up reaching for their old albums instead.