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After two albums of power metal, you'd expect the Brasilian band to continue down that path. After all, Enter Eternity was pretty goddamn fantastic.

Oh. They're going to hard rock and heavy metal territory. Well, alright, I've got full confidence in them. Oh. Lance King is gone. Fuck. Well, the guitarwork will still be fantastic, they just need to clean up the production. Oh. The guitars are way too loud. Fuck .

I don't mean to go in bashing the album, I actually quite enjoyed it. In fact, goddamn do I absolutely adore the grittier, rawer, fuller sound that the heavy metal incarnation of Shining Star has taken on. I may miss the power metal incarnation with Lance King's layered harmonized vocals and the emphasis on the keyboards, but in its place is an approach that seriously kicks ass in a way that the pre-thrash heavy metal titans would've gladly taken on tour with them. Admittedly, the album has its number of issues, but I still think that what they did here works, and I wish we got to see more from the band.

I have to start with the guitars this time. They're a bit scratchy, a bit gritty, and a bit raw. The fuzz of rhythm section no longer sounds unnatural, and I'm so fucking happy to say that. That being said, yeah, the guitars stay in the mid-higher end of the mix, but they tend to sound so much fuller than those on Enter Eternity. Rocha plays some licks here and there that would make Scar Symmetry want to eat their hearts out because unlike the "melodeath" band, Shining Star backs up the solos and bits with actual substance. What really puts the guitarwork over the edge for me is that you can hear the slide up or down to another note. You feel like you're right there , and that's fucking awesome. Even then, there are touches of groove, like in "Reign of Terror" that sound really badass. Shining Star tries adding touches of subgenres here and there, and they all work so fucking well. It reminds me of Nebularium by Disarmonia Mundi (You know, before they became edgy as hell), in a way. My main issue is that the lead guitars (Or rhythm guitars in the re-recordings, anyways) are just way too high in the mix sometimes. If your guitars are overpowering even the vocals (And you aren't shoegaze, dream pop, black metal, noise, etc.), then you have a serious issue.

The bass sounds absolutely fucking incredible, with "Enslaved By Fury" starting a string of songs that highlight it. It has a somewhat smooth, but seriously funky sound about it that almost sounds like a slap bass, though I'm not sure. Take the muddiness out of nu metal bass sounds, and that's pretty much what you have here. But I do have to go back to the drums. They're a bit quiet, and they're rather compressed. While they're just as compressed as those in Enter Eternity, the compression fits the sound of the kit and the overall sound of the album far better than those in the previous album. That being said, instead of being objectively bad like in Enter Eternity, the issue is more of compressed drums not really being my thing. Sure, they're not objectively bad here, but they aren't my thing here either.

Although I'm quite sad that Lance King is no longer here, Ricardo Parronchi not only fills his shoes well, but he fits the sound better. He's just as powerful as King, but without the thickly-layered harmonies or angelic tone for a power metal sound. While still having older heavy metal-styled vocals, he has a bit more of a brooding, aggressive tone, like the rest of the album. I quite like him... Except in the re-recording of "Insanity". If anything, I really wish they didn't put that on the album. Oh yeah, they're also horrid in the beginning quieter part of "Tell Me", which needed deeper, softer vocals. Thankfully, the song does quickly go back to a more heavy metal approach, and it actually sounds fucking awesome.

Like Enter Eternity, the album is a touch front-loaded, but I'd happily revisit the back half of the album. Also like Enter Eternity, the production and mixing bring the score down yet again, but for different reasons. The first five songs aside from "Insanity" (No, I'm not counting the eight second opener, that's fucking dumb) are all seriously kick-ass, and I'm definitely going to listen to them regularly. I might very well do the same for "Tell Me". As for the re-recording of "Insanity"... Sure, turn one of the best songs off Enter Eternity into an utter shitshow, why not. Thankfully, "Nightmare" escaped the fate of sounding completely atrocious, as it's simply on-par with the original.

I really want this album to get a remaster. It's so fucking stupid that albums like Clayman and the black album are getting remasters when they really don't need them, while an album like this, which would be fucking incredible with the proper mixing, just don't. I get it, it's part the industry's thing, part Rocha seemingly abandoning the project, with only two tribute bands (To Journey and Oasis respectively) appearing on his social media pages, which his Youtube channel confirms is him. It's a shame because I think this album could go over seriously well with fans of classic rock, old school heavy metal, or even fans of the big four of thrash who are disgruntled with modern metal and the way that the music industry has become. Sure, this is from 2008, but it's everything that those kinds of people have been wanting.

Songs To Recommend: "Desperate and Suffocated", "Radiation Flame", "Enslaved By Fury", "Reign of Terror", "Tell Me"
Songs To Avoid: "Insanity" (Please, please only listen to the original.)