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Marquis de Sade are among the countless acts who formed back in the late '70s/early '80s that barely released any material before disbanding, in this case a brief demo and a single that have since been reissued as a compilation via High Roller Records. Former members would go on to join acts like Angel Witch, Blind Fury, and Sanctus, so it's not like they just vanished without a trace or gave up making music, which is why it's both a bit surprising and perfectly logical that they reformed this project back in 2020 to take another stab at it.

This brings us to the appropriately titled Chapter II, which contains six new tracks along with three older songs with retooled arrangements, two of which came from back when they were called Mixdix (good call changing the name). This has plenty of NWOBHM in its DNA like you'd expect, but it also contains elements of trad, doom, classic rock, and even prog. This makes for an interesting and diverse sound that has plenty of catchy vocal harmonies, singalong choruses, and lovely keyboard runs that come together to make a familiar sound that also contains an air of mystique. This leads to a diverse array of songs that range from the expected old-school adoration of the Dio era Rainbow-esque "Marquis de Sade" and the Saxon/Priest homage of "Living in the Ice Age" to more distinct tunes like the killer Scorpions-inspired ballad "Fortress of Solitude" and the hauntingly eerie John Lord-esque "Last Survivor," the latter of which is topped off with a spacey, epic keyboard section.

The comparisons to past acts may lead you to believe there's nothing too original here, and I suppose that's true, but it's all put together in a way that's both reverent of the Golden Age while also striving to take less explored parts of the era to stand out, which means a lot in a time when everyone and their uncle is reviving their old forgotten metal bands. A worthy return that's not to be missed.