Artist: Messiah's Kiss  
   Title: Dragonheart
   Label: SPV Records

'Dragonheart' is the third studio album from Metal tour de force Messiah’s Kiss and once again Mike Tirelli and the rest of the band have brought their unbridled passion for all that is Metal and put their hearts and soul into this true Heavy Metal release.

This is the follow up to the bands two previous releases 'Prayer for The Dying’ (2002) and 'Metal' (2004) both outstanding metal releases.  With this new album the band haven’t swayed away from the traditional metal path with this unadulterated head-bangers feast of guitar orientated metal.

The album gets underway with ‘The Ancient Cries’ and from the off the might of Tirelli’s vocals come into play as he powers his way through the track like an express train, and with the powerful heavy riffs of guitarist Georg Kraft, this is a great way to get the album started.

The unashamed classic Heavy Metal assault continues with the speed fest that is ‘Babylon’, but it’s the likes of ‘Where The Falcons Cry’ where Tirelli really shines, as he comes across as a modern day Ronnie James Dio.  This is classic rock at it's very best.

The band like to describe their musical style as "true metal" and that is a pretty damn good description of what you get, good honest to god metal right out of the Saxon, Accept, Dio, Priest mould.  A flurry of guitars and pounding rhythm section and a vocals who can deliver both the higher ranges and the lower spectrum with ease, this is non more so on the title track ’Dragonheart’.

‘Thunders Of The Night’ is metal in its purest form.  A track that is based around a powerful bass sound that, pardon the pun, thunders along.  The pace is picked up once more with the full metal assault that is ’Steelrider’.  Aa track that is very Accept like apart from the vocals that are definitely Tirelli’s, as he proves again what a powerhouse set of pipes he has.

One of my favourite tracks off the album has to be the magnificent 'City of Angels’,  although it’s a more gentle refrain from what’s gone before on the album, it has that classic rock feel while still retaining that now trademark Messiah’s Kiss sound, and with Tirelli giving us another immaculate vocal performance, this along with Kraft’s soaring guitars really make this track something special.

‘Nocturnal’ sees the band once again going into full metal mode with this one, another shred fest by Kraft on this one and with a rhythm section that pounds out the beat like their lives depended on it, this is a metal heads dream.  

The same pounding back beat is once again a prominent factor on ‘Northern Lights’ an although the pace is only brought down a touch, Tirelli once again showing his ability to be both melodic and power driven in the same breath and with Kraft bouncing some great riffs off the thunderous drums of Eckhard Ostra, this also features as one of the tracks of the album for me.

Another down to earth metal track has to be the riff laden ‘Open Fire’, while the band pull out all the stops for the final track ‘The Ivory Gates’.  A track that starts off with Tirelli in almost rock opera mode as he gives an another impressive vocal performance on the intro, before unleashing those pure metal vocals as he is joined by the rest of the band and they unite in as one metal unit.

This is without a doubt the bands finest album to date and one that will get the band the recognition they deserve in those hallowed metal circles.

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