This the debut from 'Messiah's Kiss' sees them borrowing heavily from the classic Metal Bands 'Iron Maiden', 'Judas Priest' and to a lesser degree 'Manowar', 'Accept' and the usual German Power Metal culprits. The line-up includes highly regarded vocalist 'Mike Tirelli' formally of 'Holy Mother' (and regular stand-in for 'Riot'), the rest of the band are relative unknowns to me, but are no less impressive.

'Prayer for the Dying' opens up with the intro 'The rising' a fairly innocuous piece that in all honesty just acts as a lead-in to 'Light in the Black'. This the proper opener is a brisk paced ripper very reminiscent of 'Judas Priest' but without a little of their refinement, that said still a worthy track that comes complete with a solid duelling solo, 'Mike Tirelli's' lean vocals and fine propelling rhythm work. Better still is the more melodic, multi layered 'Reign of Fire' which cleverly changes direction mid track, this time around the guitaring is straight from the 'Iron Maiden' handbook.- still quality though. Not quite to my tastes is the repetitive 'Dream Evil', 'Tirelli' delivers some mean vocals, but the rhythm work soon becomes tiring and ultimately ends up far too pedestrian. Much better is the pulsating 'Blood, Sweat & Tears' which is driven by some sublime drum and bass, while also benefiting from a catchy chorus, soaring vocals and more sharp fret work. The strong run continues with the 'Priest' implicative 'Thunderball', the highlight here is a magnificent performance from drummer 'Eckhard Ostra' who propels the track throughout, the guitar solo is also noteworthy- a top track. The tempo is maintained for the powerful title track 'Prayer for the Dying' a nicely penned ripper, which incorporates some blazing fret work, hearty vocals and more appropriate driving rhythm. The tempo falls for 'Night Comes Down' which surprisingly isn't a 'Priest' cover, but is well within their style, this riff driven cracker highlights a sublimely sung catchy chorus and sweet melodic tempo drop which helps make this another top cut. Much brisker is the blazing 'Mortal Sin' that despite being slightly rawer than most tracks is still nicely penned, furiously driven by 'Eckhard Ostra' and 'Andreas Roschak' and further braced by more sweet guitar solos. The pace falls for the powerful chugger 'Final Warning', a decent if not long-winded affair, strong is parts, weaker in others and closes rather too abruptly. 'Pride and Glory' follows in similar fashion and as with the previous track is a mixed bag, far from poor, but definitely not a highlight. In my opinion they have saved the best for last with the Manowar style epic 'Blood of the Kings', they pull out all the stops for this one, as the consistently impressive 'Mike Tirelli' is on stunning form throughout, the fret work of 'Georg Kraft' and 'Alexander Hitz' is just superb, while overall being excellently penned and splendidly performed.

Ok, not the most original Metal you will ever hear, but they certainly know their field and I'm sure there is much more quality to come.