If you like metal bands like Helloween, you are probably likely to enjoy this. I think it’s a smoking hot album that has plenty of technical angles along with power metal and more. I really dig the tracks that are more horror related, but everything here is cool. The one pirate metal leaning tune gets a little silly for a moment or two, but this whole thing works well.
This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2025 Volume 3. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2025.
Track by Track Review
Lost In The Haunted House
Symphonic elements are at play here. This is trippy stuff with a great spooky vibe. It serves as a cool mood setting introduction.
Craven Road
This drives out with furious metal jamming. It has technical and power epic metal vibes. This is a real powerhouse.
Bloodmoon
There is some fierce guitar soloing built into this. It’s another furious metal stomper. There is a female vocal section added to the mix on this one. This also turns a little more extreme later.
Ghosted
The title track has some particularly meaty riffing. The track isn’t a big change, but when it’s this good, who cares.
Dance With The Dancing Clown
A more symphonic, epic introduction brings us in here. That introduction runs through. From there we’re taken to more driving metal jamming. This is fast paced and has some really catchy hooks. Yet, it also has plenty of metal meat on its bones. This is dynamic and rather epic in scope with some great changes and anthemic choruses.
Polybius
This is so epic. It gets almost proggy in some of the shifts and changes. Yet, it’s still decidedly metal. It is a powerhouse that has anthemic choruses and so much meaty metal on its bones.
Evil Dead Never Sleeps
Driving powerhouse metal is on the menu here. The track gets really epic and features some symphonic instrumentation later. It’s screaming hot and packed full of twists and turns.
Return To Monkey Island
There are some Celtic stylings at play on this track. The number has plenty of killer metal at its heart, too. This is a pirate metal song. It drops back to some strange, playful island stuff later. We get some smoking hot guitar soloing as it continues to build back out from there.
Make A Difference
More powerhouse epic metal is on the menu here. This has some seriously driving, furious stuff built into it.
The 13th
This comes in with a mellow, keyboard oriented instrumental section. It fires out to fierce, driving metal from there. This gets some technical and epic angles added to the mix as it continues.
Bitter Dreams This comes in mellower and more balladic. It builds out gradually from there. It eventually turns to more rocking metallic zones as it continues. This piece is pretty epic, working outward with a lot of style and then eventually dropping back down to some kids chanting, like out of “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”
