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Lonewolf have been putting out albums of crunchy, Germanic (even though they are from France) power metal since 2001 and Division Hades is their 10th over that span. The album sounds great and the playing has plenty of fire and energy, so you can hear this is a band that has zeroed in on a formula and is working it to perfection. The gritty vocals, twin guitars and double-kick drums are featured prominently and many of the songs race along at warp speed, highlighted by "Silent Rage" and "The Fallen Angel." Lonewolf can also do pounding mid-paced music as you can hear on "Division Hades" or "Lackeys of Fear" but, for the most part, Division Hades is a pulse-racing speed fest, sure to please power metal purists. The biggest knock on the album is it sounds very much like any crunchy power metal album from early in the 2000s from bands like Wizard, Stormwarrior, Sabaton, etc. so it doesn't add anything new to the genre. The digipak version even comes with several re-recorded versions of songs from their demo days and honestly, their sound has changed so little, I couldn't tell when the new stuff ended and the "old" stuff started. My score shouldn't scare fans in any way because if you love this stuff, you'll love Division Hades. It is as good as crunchy power metal gets even if you have to admit you've heard it all before. If you don't, this album isn't going to change your opinion one iota.

Additional Information

Digipak version reviewed that includes a bonus disc with over 40 minutes of older material re-recorded by the band's current lineup.