Before I had to review this album I had listened to the ‘Kholat’ single and it was awesome. But PARADOX always amazes me. These guys can change line-ups all the time they want to and still come up with a huge catalog of great records every time. As usual PARADOX gave us another Power / Speed Metal effort full of hooks and melodies and insane guitar playing. This one comes at you with full force of aggressiveness that will make you air guitar from the get go. By the time ‘Abyss Of Pain And Fear’ we’re full blown into the Thrash Metal realm with choruses that remind me of ICED EARTH with Matt Barlow on vocals. There’s a surprising breakdown with very dark and groovy overtones in the middle section before jumping to a guitar soloing from hell. I almost broke my neck headbanging to this one. There’s a strange interlude after that one which is a short guitar only song with some orchestration. I don’t get why you would do such a thing. The riffs in this here would make Dave Mustaine feel proud. It’s like the man himself wrote all the rhythm section. “Mysterium” will definitely be in the conversation for album of the year for sure. It reminds me of the first time that I heard “Master Of Puppets”. Yes! It is that good. ‘One Way Ticket To Die’ had me wishing I could get one. Because there’s still six tracks left and I’m already exhausted from jumping around the house. After a couple of years we now have records from ASHES OF ARES, VICIOUS RUMORS, HELLOWEEN and PARADOX. If you’re into this type of Metal like I am, I’m guessing that you must be really happy about this. The CD version comes with a bonus called ‘Within The Realms Of Gray’ which reminds me a lot of BLIND GUARDIAN. Not that that is a bad thing. But when you listen to it, I’m sure you will get it. This is something you guys need to buy and play really loud. So you can make your neighbors ears bleed. www.facebook.com/paradoxthrash, www.facebook.com/hrrecords