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Pete Ahonen’s Burning Point has been a fixture on the melodic/power metal scene since before the turn of the millennium, driven by Pete’s neoclassical guitar work and a variety of vocalists (including Ahonen early on). Arsonist of the Soul is the band’s eighth album and a nice throwback to the crunchy, melodic metal of the group’s early career. I was disappointed when singer Nitte Valo left after only one album (2016’s The Blaze) as I thought she fit Burning Point’s sound like a glove, but new singer Luca Sturniolo is no slouch. He brings the clear, powerful and charismatic singing to Arsonist of the Soul that this type of music needs to work properly, and it only takes the first couple of songs to make that clear. Opener "Blast in the Past" is the kind of speedy, double-kick anthem early 2000s power metal albums opened with in order to get the blood pumping. That’s followed up by "Rules the Universe" which features some insanely catchy vocal lines that the guys in Helloween will be jealous of. There are plenty of mid-tempo, crunchy numbers like "Fire with Fire" and "Calling" that will have you breaking out the air guitar. Arsonist of the Soul is one of those releases that breaks no new ground, but the songwriting and performances are excellent, rendering similarities to other artists (and even earlier Burning Point albums like Feeding the Flames) irrelevant. If you want some new crunchy Euro-style power metal in the vein of Helloween and Iron Savior, Burning Point have you covered with Arsonist of the Soul.