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Blaze of Rage is the sixth full-length from Belgium's Magic Kingdom and band leader Dushan Petrossi's first stab at writing a concept album. A rebellion of damned souls is certainly an epic topic and Petrossi, along with his bandmates, has crafted an expansive listening experience for the fans, one that brings in a lot of varied influences from thrash metal to acoustic pieces and a wide variety of vocals to give the story's characters life. There are straight power metal cuts, sweeping cinematic elements, thoughtful passages, etc. and frankly it is a lot to take in. The songwriting is over the top, even for power metal, and a bit bloated like on "The Great Retribution/Metallic Tragedy Chapter 3" when all the singers come together in a mishmash of competing voices. Make no mistake, Magic Kingdom are talented and Blaze of Rage sounds clean and sharp, as you would expect from a veteran power metal band, but I find it to be a release with so much crammed in, it is overwhelming. Perhaps Magic Kingdom has bitten off more than it or its fans can chew, but Blaze of Rage will still likely find proponents among those who enjoy Rhapsody of Fire, Royal Hunt, Kaledon and the like.