Of the Son and the Father

So this album sounds a lot like Dio, and the group is very talented. Compared to their later releases, this is simplistic and short, with no song surpassing 5 minutes. The songs all have catchy, rather repetitive choruses, with good, crunchy rock riffs and vocal melodies ala Dio.

The catchiest songs here are the opener "Cloudbreaker", "Slay the Dragon", "Burn Down the Wheel", and "Man on the Rock." "Night of the Witch" is pretty cool, and I've always loved "Rainbow In Your Mind", which would have to be my favorite cut here. All of the other songs are rather unmemorable, especially the title cut...they all seem to run together, and I can't even remember the choruses, which try to be catchy, after multiple listens.

The biggest problem with this is that it's too short (what, a half hour and 10 songs?), and there's a lack of memorable songs. The band could've removed 3 or 4 of the tracks and put in 2 that were 5 or 6 minutes in length, put more work into it. It's fun while it's on, but you'll only remember a few of the songs when it's done, and those songs are nowhere near as good as the standouts on their next 2 albums.

This is only a debut though, and a fun disc at that, so I won't be too harsh on it. For those new to the band, "Evil Is Forever" is a better place to start for this band.