German speed metal with class, a pretty accurate description. Masters Of Disguise previous material is top notch stuff from a genre that was always my favourite. Obviously, those who know the band will know their love of the band Savage Grace, their name, previous album titles and their mascot, Knutson.
After the intro, ‘Sacrifice’ bursts into action. The speed, the pace, its meaty and fresh. ‘Demons from the Past’ follows a similar path and provides some folky type influences towards the end of the track. That leads me to influences. Early Helloween and Lucifer’s Heritage/Blind Guardian is the order of the day in some places. Of course the Exciter cover ‘Blackwitch’ (a CD only bonus track) gives another clue. However, one track, ‘Shadows of Death’ is true warrior epic metal a-la Manowar. The guitar sound, the power and then getting to the range of Alex Stahl’s vocals are immense; this track is certainly giving Eric Adams a run for his money. Overall, this album yields many incredible vocal performances from Stahl.
The title track ‘Alpha / Omega’ is a perfect speed metal anthem, which develops and has a few other influences. ‘Witchhammer’ and ‘The Leech’ are also relentless speed metal affairs with ‘Knutson II: Nemesis (I Am the Law)’ becoming a cool sing along track. As the PR material suggests, you can easily pick out the tracks that are going to be fist raising experience when aired live.
This IS speed metal with class, there’s melody, there’s power, there’s some ripping solo’s and a hell of a lot of momentum. Forget all the cool necro stuff, German speed metal is simply a class leader and this latest offering is definite proof of such a high accolade. A great speed metal release that delivers more than he classics.
(8.5/10 Paul Maddison)
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