After their previous effort 2003's 'Rock the Block' and taking into account the departure of original guitarist 'Ferdinand Von Arb', I wasn't expecting a great deal from this release. I have however truly underestimated these Swiss Hard Rockers, as 'Hellraiser' has quickly become one of my favourite albums of year. It's always sad to see an original member leave, but the departure of 'Arb' has brought in more flashy guitarist 'Mandy Mayer', who along with superb drummer 'Stefan Schwarzmann' (.U.D.O., Running Wild, Helloween) has given the band a new lease of life. The material present is not only more original and consistent than 'Rock The Block' but is thankfully heavier, more uncompromising and better penned, while also benefiting from a crystal clear production.

The album gets off to a great start with the title track, the sort of brisk paced, swaggering rocker 'AC / DC' would be proud off, 'Marc Storace' delivers with power and conviction, whilst receiving plenty of support by the splendid driving rhythm and tight fret work from 'Favez' and 'Meyer'. 'Too Wired to Sleep' continues is a similar fashion, lively, carefree and at times 'Marc Storace' sounds incredibly like 'Bon Scott', that's said not quite into rip-off territory and another quality track that highlights one of many splendid chorus. The tempo falls for mid tempo plodder 'Hangman', a beautifully sung piece, which includes sweet hooks and solos, and overall has a great laidback feel, ultimately the chorus is a tad lacking but still a nice change of pace. The customary Power Ballad 'Angel of My Dreams' ensues and surprisingly is a rather classy piece of work, the sublime melody has more edge than you would expect thanks to more divine fret work, combine this with nice penmanship and a stellar execution and you're got one shockingly good song. More of a mainstream 'Krokus' sound is exhibited on the riff driven 'Fight On', at times reveals a slightly more modern approach, but still a good solid cut, while the forlorn Power Ballad 'So Long' is reminiscent of 'Whitesnake' and is just beautifully performed. By complete contrast is the blazing rocker 'Spirit of the Night', which to my ear is a cross between 'Judas Priest' and classic early 'Dokken' and boy does this hit the spot! Smoking fret work, which at times has a 'George Lynch' feel, thundering rhythm, top notch vocals and simple but catchy lyrics- Wow! The more conventional hard rocking of Krokus is evident on 'Midnite Fantasy' a solid if slightly pedestrian track, while the swaggering 'No Risk No Gain' is a good light-hearted affair that sounds like a fusion of 'Mötley Crüe' and 'AC / DC'. Superior still is the up-tempo rocker 'Turnin' Inside Out' which ebbs and flows to a refine melody, while highlighting a magnificent shredding guitar solo and the usual razor sharp vocals of 'Storace'. The momentum falls for the mid tempo ballad come rocker 'Take My Love', a tad listless and sluggish in places and reminds me a little of work from their previous album. The pace is quickly restored with the neck-swaying rocker 'Justice', which in general has an 80's Hair Metal vibe, the guitar work of 'Mandy Mayer' is just superb, especially the sweet soloing and helps make this another hit. The band takes a slight departure with the next track 'Love Will Survive'. which has a strong 'Led Zeppelin' / 'Kingdom Come' style approach, personally I think it adds nice diversity to the album, although perhaps loose focus towards the end. Last up is the short snappy rocker 'Rocks Off', lyrically it's light-weight but fortunately very catchy, with a strong chorus and instrumentation that's even stronger- so thankfully still makes the grade.

If you have the limited edition version of 'Hellraiser' you can enjoy two live videos, one of the title track from this album and the classic 'Rock City' from 'Hardware'. Also included is the short rocker 'Walking in the Spirit', a nice rhythm driven number, pretty simplistic but effective and includes great screams from 'Storace'.

There's not a poor song on the whole album and ultimately leaps and bounds better than 'Rock the Block'. I make no apologies for rating this higher than 'Maiden's' 'A Matter of Life and Death'- one of the best releases of the year!