MOB RULES
For over twenty years Mob Rules has blasted through the airwaves as a leader in the German melodic-power metal scene. Klaus Dirks on vocals has become a standard in which others are measured with his exceptional range. With Matthias Mineur and Sven Lüdke on guitars, Markus Brinkmann on bass, Nikolas Fritz on drums and Jan Christian Halfbrodt master of the keys, Mob Rules return with ‘Tales from Beyond’ to continue the efforts from 2012’s ‘Cannibal Nation’. The last we heard from Mob Rules was in 2014 with their Best Of album, ‘TimeKeeper. Also, they released a single in 2013, titled ‘My Kingdom Come’, which is also included on this 2016 release.
Jumping right into ‘Tales from Beyond’ with the excellent ‘Dykemaster’s Tale’, the intro oozes a sort of Celtic Iron Maiden theme overall. Amazing build up to a terrific classic guitar riff and energetic lyrics. This all builds to an EPIC chorus! Spectacular opening to an album! ‘Somerled’ comes to us next with terrific beating drums and more classic guitars. Fantastic transitions keep this title from calming into a lesser sound. Just from these opening tracks I’m feeling very good about Mob Rules’ work on this album! They have a sound that is a nice change up from other traditional power metal bands, yet has very strong similarities to Iron Maiden and dashes of Ed Guy or Dream Evil with the glorious choruses.
‘Signs’ brings forth a very ominous introduction of plinky guitars that jump back into really nice keyboards as well as ballady guitars adding classic tones. This track slows down the overall pace that we had going for the first two tracks and doesn’t come across as a negative, which is nice. Picking up the pace a bit is ‘On the Edge’ which brings to us a stunning chorus with harmonizing vocals and inspirational lyrics. What an awesome sound! ‘My Kingdom Come’ has been around for a few years, but it’s awesome to hear it added to this release. Great song. ‘The Healer’ and ‘Dust of Vengeance’ come in next with a terrific blend of harmony and edgy guitars that lead into a three part series of songs for the title tracks.
‘A Tale From Beyond’, in three parts, comes to us with a more orchestral sound and offers more balance of a building sound that climaxes into very good, but not great, choruses. I actually found these three tracks - ‘Through The Eye Of The Storm’, ‘A Mirror Inside’ and ‘Science Save Me!’ - to be a collection of some of the weaker tracks of the lot on this release. Ending the album would be ‘Outer Space’, which picks things back up in a sort of Iron Savior style of lyrics and sound effects.
I’ve name dropped quite a few of my all-time favorite bands in this review. Iron Maiden, Ed Guy, Dream Evil and even Iron Savior, as these excellent groups have a sort of spiritual tie to me in this recent release by Mob Rules. The guitar solos, the vocals, the amazing choruses, keys and overall harmonies come across as a trip down nostalgia lane while, at the same time, offer something completely new and shouldn’t be missed by anyone. Highly recommended!
Jumping right into ‘Tales from Beyond’ with the excellent ‘Dykemaster’s Tale’, the intro oozes a sort of Celtic Iron Maiden theme overall. Amazing build up to a terrific classic guitar riff and energetic lyrics. This all builds to an EPIC chorus! Spectacular opening to an album! ‘Somerled’ comes to us next with terrific beating drums and more classic guitars. Fantastic transitions keep this title from calming into a lesser sound. Just from these opening tracks I’m feeling very good about Mob Rules’ work on this album! They have a sound that is a nice change up from other traditional power metal bands, yet has very strong similarities to Iron Maiden and dashes of Ed Guy or Dream Evil with the glorious choruses.
‘Signs’ brings forth a very ominous introduction of plinky guitars that jump back into really nice keyboards as well as ballady guitars adding classic tones. This track slows down the overall pace that we had going for the first two tracks and doesn’t come across as a negative, which is nice. Picking up the pace a bit is ‘On the Edge’ which brings to us a stunning chorus with harmonizing vocals and inspirational lyrics. What an awesome sound! ‘My Kingdom Come’ has been around for a few years, but it’s awesome to hear it added to this release. Great song. ‘The Healer’ and ‘Dust of Vengeance’ come in next with a terrific blend of harmony and edgy guitars that lead into a three part series of songs for the title tracks.
‘A Tale From Beyond’, in three parts, comes to us with a more orchestral sound and offers more balance of a building sound that climaxes into very good, but not great, choruses. I actually found these three tracks - ‘Through The Eye Of The Storm’, ‘A Mirror Inside’ and ‘Science Save Me!’ - to be a collection of some of the weaker tracks of the lot on this release. Ending the album would be ‘Outer Space’, which picks things back up in a sort of Iron Savior style of lyrics and sound effects.
I’ve name dropped quite a few of my all-time favorite bands in this review. Iron Maiden, Ed Guy, Dream Evil and even Iron Savior, as these excellent groups have a sort of spiritual tie to me in this recent release by Mob Rules. The guitar solos, the vocals, the amazing choruses, keys and overall harmonies come across as a trip down nostalgia lane while, at the same time, offer something completely new and shouldn’t be missed by anyone. Highly recommended!
LABEL:
FORMAT:
Steamhammer/SPV
Album
TALES FROM BEYOND
Review by Joshua Jaeger
RUNNING TIME:
60:05
RELEASE DATE:
18th March 2016
TRACK LISTING
1) Dykemaster's Tale; 2) Somerled
3) Signs; 4) On the Edge
5) My Kingdom Come
6) The Healer
7) Dust of Vengeance
8) A Tale from Beyond (Part 1 Through the Eye of the Storm)
9) A Tale from Beyond (Part 2 A Mirror Inside)
10) A Tale from Beyond (Part 3 Science Save Me!)
11) Outer Space
3) Signs; 4) On the Edge
5) My Kingdom Come
6) The Healer
7) Dust of Vengeance
8) A Tale from Beyond (Part 1 Through the Eye of the Storm)
9) A Tale from Beyond (Part 2 A Mirror Inside)
10) A Tale from Beyond (Part 3 Science Save Me!)
11) Outer Space
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
Germany
"The guitar solos, the vocals, the amazing choruses, keys and overall harmonies come across as a trip down nostalgia lane while, at the same time, offer something completely new..."
