The Metal knights of TWISTED TOWER DIRE this year are standing in line with their third album to kick some major ass. After their gigantic previous album "The Isle Of Hydra" I hardly looked forward that much to an album than this one. Well, the end result had disappointed me a bit.

Did the last epos of the Americans have the ideal mix between technical frills and fantastic melodies, the new one is a lot straighter. More HAMMERFALL than JAG PANZER, more GAMMA RAY than MERCYFUL FATE you could describe the whole thing by now. But even though they have turned towards a more mass compatible sound, the guys still moon their comparable colleagues from Sweden or Italy…for a reason.

Catchiness here - melody there, the songs still are strong enough to serve off the majority of the scene. The band still leaves out keyboard carpets and unnecessary bombast, it is and still stays pure Heavy Metal. But nobody can tell me that Piet Sielck, who produced the CD, did not have his fingers in the game at least for the choirs and choruses. Especially the song "Fight To Be Free" sounds a lot like Piet's own band IRON SAVIOR.

Those maniacs that equally like old iRON MAIDEN and the already mentioned bands and also worship BLIND GUARDIAN around their "Somewhere Far Beyond" times, will also celebrate TWISTED TOWER DIRE. See to it that you can get the limited edition, as the CD also contains the debut classic "The Witch's Eyes" in better sound as a bonus. (Online August 17, 2003)