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Greece's No Remorse Records seems to have the hot hand for finding up-and-coming traditional heavy metal bands these days and now gives us the second album from Russia's Blacksword, titled Alive Again. These guys have a killer guitar sound, from pummeling chords to squealing solos, that is pure ear candy for the six-string aficionado. The singer is no slouch, possessing a strong, gritty shout and has the ability to hit the high notes when needed. Their songwriting skills could use a little sharpening, however, as songs like "Cave of the Witch" and "Barbarian Born" have killer riffs but rely a little too heavily on similar progressions and sound a lot like one another. This makes it a bit of a challenge to tell one song from the next, but that is mitigated by the fact that they all rock hard. The title track is probably the best song on the album, running an epic eight minutes with enough stylistic changes to keep it interesting. Closing the album with the instrumental "The Crown of All", replete with acoustic passages and string melodies is a bold move that pays huge dividends by leaving a lasting impression. Alive Again is a promising release from this band and fans of Vicious Rumors, Primal Fear and Brainstorm should have no trouble slotting it into heavy rotation.