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Well, we had to wait a long time for this one. After the superlative To Death And Beyond, Battleroar kind of fell apart. They didn't break up, but with all but two original members gone, they seemed poised on the brink of it. Singer Marco Concoreggi and guitarist Manolis Karazeris left to form Dexter Ward, and for a while the band had no stable lineup.

Well, they have sorted out their issues, and with new members they have struck back with their first new work in six years, the powerful Blood of Legends. If you were concerned that the songwriting would slip, then don't. These are some of the most solid tunes the band has written, and their riff-writing sounds as good as ever. Not all the tunes are as distinct as I would like, but they dich up some first-rate songs in "Poisoned Well", the title track, and the album high point "Valkyries Above Us". The production is solid and heavy, and the overall sound is a feast for fans of the band, or of Epic Metal in general.

So: Gerrit Mutz. I winced when I heard he was taking over the vocals for this album, as Gerrit is not a bad vocalist now, but once upon a time he was one of the very worst vocalists ever. Now, that was years ago, but I still was not sure what we were going to get here. I am glad to say he steps in with admirable style and charisma. He doesn't have Marco's haunting tone, nor his evocative sound. But he has a more present, upfront voice with a lot of versatility. He fits in well with the band, and while they have thus lost some of their atmosphere, they make up for it in muscle.

Overall, this is a more than worthy addition to the Battleroar canon, and while it may not reach the heights of their last two albums, it comes very, very close, and it delivers a big, heavy album of Epic Metal delights while it's at it. Battleroar is back.