FEAR

i like DC Cooper's voice but before Paradox, Royal Hunt was not just good enough in my opinion. following up Paradox with a new singer was always going to be difficult, and Fear doesn't rate very highly amongst RH fans and reviewers alike. i can't imagine why:

"Fear" ? 9:38: great way to start an album....at almost 10 minutes, Fear is one of the longest RH has done (probably the only longer song is Intervention?). progressive, dark, gripping.

"Faces of War" ? 6:56: in quite a large contrast to the first song, Faces of War is upbeat and frantic from the first note. catchy chorus, good riffs

"Cold City Lights" ? 5:23: a bit of a breather, not sure where they wanted to go. mid-tempo, meandering, not great.

"Lies" ? 7:44: awesome opening riff - almost thrash-like. never lets up through till almost 8 minutes.

"Follow Me" ? 6:22: the lyrics are the stand-out point for me on this one. "If pictures could talk there'd be too many voices, If sorrow could scream I'd be deaf in a day...", and the rest of the song is carried on these shoulders...

"Voices" ? 5:20: lively, upbeat song. a little too similar to "Faces of War", can never quite make out which one i'm listening to - but both are good so listen to them together and they make a 12-minute epic!

"Sea of Time" ? 7:44: melancholy and brooding...dont know if it was intentional but its almost like going full circle from the opener "Fear"...

good , strong album even if sometimes its not clear which direction the band wanted to go with it...