"The Showdown" is the third installment from the team of Jorn Lande (Jorn & Masterplan) and Russell Allen (Sympathy X) on vocals with Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear, Starbreaker) on guitars/keyboards/bass and song writing. Jaime Salazar completes the line-up drums.
I have to admit that whilst I have heard both 2005's "The Battle" and 2007's "The Revenge", this is third album is the first time I have really sat down and spent some time listening to these guys.
And an impressive experience it is. In their day jobs Allen and Lande have proven that they are top notch singers and Karlsson has displayed some impressive song writing skills in his various projects. If you have heard the first two albums, then it is no surprise that we are dealing with melodic hard rock that sometimes has elements of symphonic metal. Title track, "The Showdown", is a powerful opener and next track "Judgement Day" combines melody and power which is basically what this album is all about. The band then proceed to romp through a fairly consistent set of tracks that have a good balance of light and shade. In addition to that opeing duo, highlights include the heavy AOR of "Bloodlines", "We Will Rise Again" and the more metal "The Artist".
So we have another impressive addition to the Allen/Lande catalogue.
Rating: 4 Stars
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