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Now I have to admit I have not been keeping up with the Metal Church comeback since Masterpeace. The last Metal Church album I own is The Human Factor, and I am one of the weirdos who does not like the David Wayne years and thinks Blessing In Disguise is their best work ever. That is to give you an idea if where I am coming from as I listen to this venerable band's ninth studio effort.

I think this is a pretty good album, but it lacks character. New singer Ronny Munroe is pretty good, but he's sure no Mike Howe. The production here is a bit weak, without a lot of punch, and the guitars don't sound that great. But mostly it's just that the riffs are so-so. This is not a bad album, but is there anything on here to match "Badlands", "Fake Healer" or "In Due Time"? Not even close. There are some decent tunes here like the powerful "Deeds of a Dead Soul", the stomping "Crawling To Extinction" and the more epic "A War Never Won". But overall, once this album is over, you won't remember one thing from it. Even after several trips through this album, I don't bring anything with me that makes me want to go back and play it again.

I hate to say this is a mediocre album — I really do — but it just never catches fire. This is workmanlike, beer-and-pretzels Heavy Metal from a band that used to be so much more, but probably won't ever be again.