Monday, July 13, 2015

REVIEW : ROYAL HUNT / XIII - Devil’s Dozen (2015)

For those who are into the quality metal music, the band of Royal Hunt was always synonymous to the word high quality or high class metal stuff. Royal Hunt gained huge success in the Hard Rock / Metal community in the mid-90's during their tenure with US vocalist D.C. Cooper on their - now classic - albums “Moving Target” and “Paradox”.

Since then, the band has been through several line-up changes (including two singers, John West and Mark Boals). In 2011 and after numerous requests from fans and promoters worldwide, they decided to reunite again with vocalist D. C. Cooper for a special tour, playing songs from the first four albums. They have since recorded two successful albums featuring D.C. Cooper as their permanent vocalist and nowadays the band is back with a brand new record entitled "XIII-Devil's Dozen".

The new album is solid and Royal Hunt achieves to mix all of the band's trademarks with a more fresh approach making the final result extremely interesting. The opening tune of "So Right So Wrong" is classic Royal Hunt; it's heavy, D.C. Cooper's vocals are stunning, it has a chorus line to die for and the progressive elements make this track simply delightful! "Heart On A Platter" is yet another excellent and high quality progressive metal gem that includes great arrangements, a tight musicianship and a larger than life sound!! "A Tear In The Rain" kicks-off with a blasting riff, big and in-your-face keys, a strong epic vibe, a melody that grabs you at once and becomes one of my favorite tunes out of the new record! Blissful! "Until The Day" is yet another killer song; slower with a 'darker' and theatrical vibe in it and features an incredible solo! In "Way Too Late" the band is showing its modern approach without loosing its originality. It's about a great rocker with a catchy as hell hook and chorus line and the big sound in front row! Once again D.C. Cooper's vocals are superb!

Royal Hunt is back with a fantastic album! "XIII- Devil's Dozen" includes all of the band's previous elements plus a more fresh and modern approach and the result is brilliant! Powerful and melodic with a larger than life sound, excellent musicianship and the amazing vocals of D.C. Cooper are some of the ingredients of this new gem that can't be missed by any fan of this band and, of course, by any fan of the metal/hard rock scene in general. 

Rating : 9,2/10

Track Listing :
So Right So Wrong; May You Never (Walk Alone); Heart On A Platter; A Tear In The Rain; Until The Day; Riches To Rags; Way Too Late; How Do You Know (bonus track).

Official Website royalhunt.com Pre-Order Devil's Dozen http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/royalhunt2015 So Right So Wrong - Official Audio https://youtu.be/37gVrA7Lg-A Facebook https://www.facebook.com/royalhunt Twitter http://www.twitter.com/royalhuntmusic Sound Cloud https://soundcloud.com/royalhuntmusic Official Newsletter http://eepurl.com/bjIBDT


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