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Four years after making a perfect album with Defying the Rules, Hibria comes back with their sophomore effort, The Skull Collectors. Now when you make a debut as godly as this band did, there is practically nothing to improve, making this a difficult record to make. But I won't talk about what this record isn't but rather what it is.

The Skull Collectors features the guitar mastery of Abel Camargo and Diego Kasper, and like the debut that guitar wizardry is the centerpiece of the album. Bassist Marco Panichi is another featured player once again - you can hear his bass solos especially in the opener and it simply sounds awesome. Vocalist Iuri Samson still delivers the high octaves that were present in the debut, only this time he has a little more gruffness to his regular voice, however his banshee wails, while still good, are not as captivating as they were on the debut. Finally newcomer Eduardo Baldo (former roadie) proves that he's a very good drummer and worthy of being in Hibria.

Songwriting-wise, this is not that much different from the debut; with its catchy choruses you'll remember these songs long after the album is over. There is some cool shit in this album like "Screaming Ghost" and "Sea of Revenge". The Japanese version of this record features the demo version of "Screaming Ghost" and I am glad they changed it. The album version is so much better, not because of the production but because the chorus is much more memorable. Speaking of which, the production on The Skull Collectors is very good giving room to showcase the songs as a whole.

In making this record they faced an impossible situation because there was absolutely nothing wrong with their debut. So this record doesn't have that special something that gave the debut that magical feeling. Because of this, this album is a tiny step back, though a grower and a worthy follow up. Still this is a very good disc recommended for fans of their debut and fans of ripping Heavy Metal. Hopefully we won't have to wait another 4 years for their next album.