DEATH DEALER – War Master

Another Metall-All-Star-Project has arrived. In this case sporting two ex-Manowar musicians with Rhino and Ross The Boss, plus Cage singer Sean Peck. While incurable dreamers think of a Metal feast, the reality is, unfortunately, less sensational. What one can suspect when Rock veterans like these unite is a solid album of Traditional Metal, in this case very audible of a style similar to Judas Priest’s Painkiller.

Sounds good? Indeed, it is not bad. Mostly rocking in mid-tempo, with heavy riffing and siren-like screaming from Peck, it is the heir to the Painkiller throne, unfortunately, the infant heir. What was a big thing over twenty years ago cannot be expected to meet the same enthusiasm these days, and what is the best Ross The Boss album since his departure from Manowar and by far the best album Sean Peck sang on so far, still ends up only being a mediocre piece of work.

The most obvious flaw is the production, which seems to focus solely on loudness and not on dynamics. That is nothing new and Death Dealer are not the only ones to be blamed for that, but not having learned anything amounts for something too. Secondly, the compositions, while not really bad, are far from outstanding and have the last point of criticism in common with Cage:  Sean Peck. He may be a good screamer, but he is consistently overdoing it. That was the case with Supremacy Of Steel and continues on War Master.

The interesting parts are when the bands leave their familiar territory and use twin guitars like in “Liberty Or Death”, or when they follow Mercyful Fate like in “Curse Of The Heretic” (which is, by the way, the best song on the album). War Master is a good album for those who want Painkiller 2 and who don’t care about the sound or the fact that Sean Peck over screams on this album from start to finish.