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Warrior Path's self-titled debut was a pounding, epic affair that I liked a lot. Their follow-up, The Mad King, is something of a different animal. With the addition of former Lost Horizon singer Daniel Heiman, Warrior Path have added an awesome power metal element to their repertoire. Heiman's gravelly voice suits the monstrous riffs of songs like "Savage Tribe" while his high-pitched screams give the chorus of that same song the kind of earworm catchiness bands (and fans) kill for. There are no bad songs on The Mad King and the album flows from the atmospheric instrumental opener to the anthemic title track, then the rambunctious "Beast of Hate" to the Manowar-esque "Avenger" and ultimately wrapping up with the roller coaster that is "Last Tale." I was either rocking the air guitar or imagining myself riding the steppes in search of battle (sometimes both) every time I spun The Mad King.

Take the choruses from Riot's Thundersteel, the epic riffs from Manowar's Hail to England and the atmospheric songwriting from Iron Maiden's Piece of Mind, put them in a blender and what comes out will sound a lot like Warrior Path's The Mad King.