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Beast in Black have been churning out "popish" power metal for a few years now and Dark Connection is no exception. Heavy use of keyboards, soaring vocals delivering incredibly catchy vocal lines, and an overall super catchy and accessible vibe is what these guys are about, and they do it well. This is definitely not for those who like their metal darker as Darker Connection is about as uplifting as it gets, the kind of stuff that can brighten your darkest day at least a little. The catchy and popish style does not prevent the band from playing it heavy, with the drums pounding and the sometimes razor-sharp guitars just slicing through your eardrums. The album ends with cool covers of Manowar's "Battle Hymns" and Michael Jackson's "They Don't Care About Us"(!), both of which are quite enjoyable (and I've never been a Michael Jackson fan). This kind of keyboard-heavy, super-positive-sounding power metal won't appeal to every metalhead out there and that's not really my go-to subgenre, but sometimes it just feels good to listen to something lighter that remains in the metal realm, and this is what Beast in Black offer here.