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Hailing from NYC, Gothic Knigths was formed in 1990 by guitarist John Tzantis. They released records in 1996, 1999 and 2003. Now nine years later the band has released their fourth album. The years before this release they invested in building a professional studio and took the time to develop their recording knowledge and engineering skills. Having a studio of their own makes it easier to record further albums without any time limit and extra costs.

The band has already opened up for acts like Savatage, Manowar, Helloween, Overkill, Riot, Symphony X, Saxon, Virgin Steele and many others. Knowing this, my expectations were high and I have to say this album didn't disappoint me. Vocalist Rick "Warlock" Sanchez has a singing style, which is a kind of mix between Harry "The Tyrant" Conklin and Rob Halford. Especially the high screams sound very Halford-like. The music is typical American power/U.S metal. The crunchy guitars, the aggressive singing style combined with Maiden-leads and Judas Priest elements. In a few songs the keyboards have a bigger role, like in "Scythe Denied" and "1689, Trial of the Witch". Jared Sloan uses the keys in the same way bands like Dio, Savatage and Sabbath do.

There is enough variety between the songs and that sees to it that they don't become boring. The riffs are most of the times short and crunchy and the galloping rhythms push the songs forward. I think this record will be liked especially by Helstar and Jag Panzer fans, but if you like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden I almost know for certain you will appreciate it too.

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