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Whoa... What the hell? As many of you already know, Beast in Black was formed by guitarist Anton Kabanen after he left Battle Beast. I heard their debut, Berserker, when it came out but, well, lots of metal out there and it slipped through the cracks.

From Hell with Love is their second album and it took me by surprised. Not by the fact that it's bombastic, catchy, fast, melodic power metal, but rather by how much it reminds me of 80s pop if it were metallized. Yep, you read that right. Some of the melodies in here sound like they were taken right off some pop radio hits of the '80s. I must say I hated it at first. It just sounded too commercial, and not really borrowing from the pop stuff I did like 30+ years ago. "Sweet True Lies" even sounds a lot like it's a boys band. That's how accessible some of the vocals melodies and choruses can sound on this album. Oh and, it is a man singing, not a woman. I found myself wondering most of the time-it's rare that it's not obviously a man singing on this.

Fast forward several listens later and I was totally hooked on the damn thing. Want it or not, the building blocks are made to be as catchy and infectious as it gets and, commercial-sounding or not, it's hard to resist and not bust a move here and there. Ask my coworkers (I listen to music at work). Ouch. Ultimately, this is very well played and sung power metal even though it's a little bit "too much" most of the time, really pushing its luck with the metal crowd. Try not to sing along or dance on your chair while listening to this. I dare you. A great soundtrack to get your spirits up.