If there were ever any doubts about whether Rob Rock could forge a career after Impellitteri, they are now officially banned into Graham Bonnet's purgatory. Holy Hell continues the strong and refined metal of its solo predecessors, and will please fans of both Impellitteri and power metal in general.
The opening riff of "Slayer Of Souls" instantly lets you know what's about to happen, and the title track reaffirms that with another in-your-face assault. The heaviness introduced on Rob's first album 'Rage Of Creation' and subsequently on 'Eyes Of Eternity' is cranked way up, but with still a very melodic structure, thanks to his stratospheric vocals; the man has never sounded better. Drumming is absolutely phenominal, thanks to skin-punisher Bobby Jarzombeck, whose work here simply shines. Fretwork is accomplished by Roy Z and Carl-Johan Grimmark, who could never really rip like this on a Narnia album. The fantastic, slashing-yet-thick stringwork is a slight stylistic change from Impellitteri's broad crunching and light-speed solos, but it still works.
Naturally, Rob Rock's songwriting ability means hooks and infectious choruses galore. It's a darker sound than usual, but darker in good way, like late Helloween or Jorne Lande-era Masterplan. "I'm A Warrior" is a remake of the cut from his previous band's 'Answer To The Master' disc, but with slight changes in the overall makeup of the song.The solitary let-down is "I'll Be Waiting," which is a ballad that has no place here. For heaven's sake, even Steelheart could do an excellent ballad, why can't Rob Rock? Every other track, however, is very solid.
Overall, this is arguably his best album to date, and Roy Z's production work has no small part to play in that.

TRACK LIST:
1. Slayer Of Souls
2. First Winds Of The Ends Of Time
3. Calling Angels
4. Holy Hell
5. Lion Of Judah
6. I'm A Warrior
7. I'll Be Waiting For You
8. When Darkness Reigns
9.The Revelation
10. Move On

Review by Erik Langerak