The album "Theatre Of The Damned" by BLITZKRIEG might be what you get when listening to the latest release of an old band that has disbanded and reunited many times. All songs on this album represent solid Heavy Metal of the qualitative kind. The riffing is competent, heavy and pretty fast and paired up together with powerful drums with more thunder in them than this genre usually offers. I am not particularly impressed by the vocal performance of Brian Ross though. I think that his voice is a little monotonous and lacks feeling.

The song structures vary a bit, but usually there are verses with a good riff in the bottom mixed with some great solos and a chorus that doesn’t manage to be the high point of the song. And here I will go into the main theme of this review and that is interest and passion. This album is done in a very professional way and the instruments are played in a precise, skilled and methodical manner. What this album lacks though is the aforementioned interest and passion. That, I think, is a part of the dullness of Ross’s voice and also that the guitars with all their skill seldom make me feel anything. This is also why the choruses aren’t the highlights of many songs; choruses are a lot about energy, I think, and if that is not there, the chorus won’t reach a high level. I think that BLITZKRIEG feels like a tired band.

However, there are rays of light in this darkness. On the slower songs, mainly concerned with emotional themes, including “Into The Light”, “Together We Are Strong” and “Armageddon”, the red of life returns to the cheeks of this band. Here I can sense some interest in making the songs better as well as some fresh ideas. So, I wonder, maybe they should try a softer approach for their next record?

(Online November 7, 2007)