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This was Paragon's third release, second full-length release, and the first after their self-imposed hiatus in the mid-90's. Got all that? Well, it doesn't matter much, as Paragon are purely incapable, then or now, of making music that does not kick your ass. "The Final Command" was self-produced, then picked up by the now-defunct BO Records, and has never been re-pressed. So good luck finding it. Haha.

As I said, Paragon took a powder in the 90s after they released their even-harder-to-find debut full-length "World Of Sin". But with the metal resurgence around 1997 they came back and put together another slab of old-school slayage to make sure the false-metal wankers keep gagging in their own blood. "The Final Command" is pure Paragon – not as fast as "Law Of The Blade", not as heavy as "The Dark Legacy", not quite as catchy as "Steelbound" – but still unmistakable and still killer. The two opener tracks are good, but they do sound a bit too much alike, it's with "Eternal Life" that this disc really gets going, and never really stops ruling. "Ashes", "Warriors of Ice", the killer title track, and even the cover of Warrior's "Fighting For The Earth" fits right in and doesn't sound out of place. Overall this album is a bit straighter and more pugilistic than later albums, but that's no surprise really.

If you like Paragon (and if you don't what the Hell are you reading this for?) this is a no brainer assuming you can get it. This band has never put out a bad album, nor even a mediocre one, and I certainly hope they never do. I hope Paragon are still kicking my ass when I'm old and grey. Here's to that.