Album Review: Almanac – Rush Of Death

How epic do you like your power metal? Fit for the coliseum? Then step this way – aficionados of chest-beating symphonic bombast will find Rush Of Death an absolute feast of musical cheese.

Across a decade and a half playing with German heavyweights Rage, mainman Victor Smolski has mastered the marriage of metallic crunch to classical luxury, and this third LP from solo project Almanac delivers both evolution and regression. However, while the album’s midsection boasts no small amount of irresistibly OTT bombast, other ideas feel awkwardly tacked-on.

Following a vaguely gladiatorial concept (inspired by Victor’s other career as, um, a champion rallycross driver), the likes of Predator and Blink Of An Eye ambitiously weld a base-level crunch to the stiff-upper-lipped sweep of latter day Maiden, but feel disappointingly low-octane in execution. It’s enough to get the blood up, overall, but hardly one for the books.

Verdict: 3/5