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This is the second album by this Australian band and for me it came as a surprise. There are power metal bands like Dungeon and Lord and a thrash combo like Mortal Sin from down under and you can put this Taberah musically in between them. Power metal with heavy (thrash) riffs and eighties speed metal vibe, that is what they serve. The vocals of Jonathon B are sometimes rather high and clean, but with a slight rough edge. He never sounds very aggressive and keeps singing a bit in the same style during the album, but that don't bother me.

Opener 2012 is a heavy power metal track in German style, with a lot of melody and a heavy riff. Influences of Maiden, Helloween, Blind Guardian, Mystic Prophecy, Grave Digger and Dragonforce are recognizable. Best song is "Dying Wish", a contagious speed metal track with Bay Area influences and a very catchy refrain. After that second song I kept waiting for another track as strong as this one, but in vein. "Burning in the Moonlight" is more a hard rock track with good guitar work and a catchy melodic chorus.

Those catchy choruses are a trademark for Taberah and the combination with the heavy riffing makes their music heavy and catchy at the same time. The idea of putting a ballad halfway thru the album like "Don't Say You'll Love Me" is common on lots of metal albums and for some a welcome resting point, others see it as a necessary evil. Right after a ballad, the next song always sounds a lot heavier than a lot of other tracks and perhaps that is the idea behind it. Another very heavy and fast song is "The Hammer of Hades", the guitar riffs are leaning towards thrash metal, together with "Dying Wish" my favorite song.

The overall songwriting is good and if they are able to write more songs like "Dying Wish" on the next album, I'm sure the rating will even be higher. A good band that will be liked by many true/power metal fans.

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