The first two tracks following the intro, ‘Take The Wheel’ and ‘Dark Skull’, make it clear where the journey is headed: strong, fast-paced Heavy Metal with a touch of epicness and a very clear New Wave Of British Heavy Metal touch . The five-piece band, led by guitarists Matt Ries and Toryin Schadlich, don’t even try to hide their love for the early JUDAS PRIEST guitar moments and the twin lead playing we know from IRON MAIDEN and THIN LIZZY, and that’s exactly what makes tracks like ‘Rebels Of The Earth’ and ‘No Fate’ sound just as fresh and cheeky as they do. The band also incorporated a nice touch of Hard Rock into ‘Heavy Hearts’, which is based on an interesting bass line and a guitar solo ready for stadium-stages in the middle section… And it offers an incredible vocal performance. Without wanting to diminish the band’s musical achievement here, it is the former GATEKEEPER singer Jean-Pierre Aboud who makes the difference here and almost forces the listener to listen to his way of singing, his words and his screams. The title song ‘Prequel To Madness’ is a brilliant conclusion to a record that is well worth listening to. Compared to their last record “Termination Shock”, the band has clearly grown into itself. It picks up speed at the right moments, it lets their singer provide the sole accents at the right moments and manages to ensure that nothing seems forced. One or two tracks that don’t seem as intense as the others, but whatever! The rest has it all! Their best album so far! But its artwork is terrible! www.facebook.com/travelerheavymetal, www.facebook.com/noremorserecordsgreece