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Los Angeles' Ninth Circle has been around nearly 30 years (as of this review) and has released five full-length studio albums, none of which I was aware of until the fifth one, Anthem of the Immortal, showed up. Anthem of the Immortal is a heavy/power metal affair from a well-oiled machine of a band that has developed some sharp playing over the decades. The sound of the album is direct with all the instruments and especially the singing forward in the mix. I'm reminded of the production on Walpyrgus' Walpyrgus Nights and even some of the vocal lines and subject matter ("Devil of Manchester") are in the same vein, though overall I'd say Ninth Circle's style is more akin to Hammerfall (even the cover artwork is sort of Hammerfall-esque). The songwriting is good with plenty of hooks and is pretty even throughout the album, though the riffs and melodies are on the unremarkable side. While nothing will blow you away, you can do a lot worse than Anthem of the Immortal if heavy/power metal is your thing.