'Personal Crisis' marks the debut for former 'Grim Reaper' and 'Onslaught' frontman 'Steve Grimmett' and while the music isn't as raw as his former bands, is pretty reminiscent of his last project 'Lionsheart'. 'Steve Grimmett' despite not being quite as lean and mean as in the 80's, is still blessed with a splendid voice, that if anything displays greater range and control than in his 'Grim Reaper' days. Musically this is well within the 80's Tradition / Melodic Metal but benefiting from a good solid modern production, although at times dare I say the more melodic tracks may have benefited from a slightly slicker job. 'Steve' has assembled a pretty respectable line-up which includes former 'Lionsheart' guitarist 'Ian Nash' and drummer / producer 'Pete Newdeck' who has played with 'Paul Di'Anno's Killers'.

'Personal Crisis' opens as it means to go on with the impressive 'Karma', an energetic yet melodic rocker, which displays a good range from 'Steve' going from gritty to harmonious seamlessly, the chorus is very strong and overlooking the closing child spoken narrative is top drawer. Like a throwback to the mid '80's is the grooving 'Wait Forever', which sounds like a cross between 'Dokken' and 'Grim Reaper' yet it all comes together very well, another quality fist-raising chorus, helped along by some slick instrumental work along the way. The tempo falls for the powerful, pulsating 'Freedom', a track which nicely incorporates some more modern aspects, while highlighting a strong underlining melody. Next up is 'Lonely' which opens with a 'Savatage' style piano intro, before building into an harmonious mid tempo number, 'Steve' displays a softer side of his voice, which suits the song perfectly. The pace is lifted for the energetic 'Afterglow' which ebbs and flows to a refined riff and rhythm, while utilising strong backing vocals for the punchy chorus, ultimately sounds a little more modern than I might of expected but still comes together strongly. Better still is 'Enemy', which sees vocals split between 'Steve' and female vocalist 'Joanna Ruiz', interesting you may think, but it comes off superbly, a really great song on it's own merits, but the combined vocals just work so well- top track. 'Promises' follows with a more punchy approach, nicely incorporating some more modern elements, while 'Invincible' is a strong melodic rocker, which dare I say borders on 'Hair Metal' territory especially with it's 'Dokken' style chorus. The more melodic line of attack continues with 'Strength', personally not one of my highlights but a nice deviation into Hard Rock. The old 'Grim Reaper' classic 'Wrath of the Ripper' ensues and unsurprisingly fails to disappoint, and while it's not as raw or energetic as the original is a very good take, with plenty of sharp instrumental work and 'Steve's' soaring vocals. The album closes with another top cut 'Fallen', possibly the briskest track present which is upheld by a quality riff, whilst 'Steve' again impresses on the solid lyrics and 'Ian Nash' displays some superb soloing- another top cut!

This is definitely a release to please the fans, as I can unfortunately imagine the critics panning 'Personal Crisis', which is a shame as it's a very good release, if you like 'Steve Grimmett's' work do yourself a favour and buy this!