TYRANT - Hereafter

Release date May 15, 2020 (Shadow Kingdom)

Tyrant were originally formed in 1978 by guitarist Rocky Rockwell and bassist Greg May. They released two albums in the mid-80s, another in the mid-90s and then they disbanded. They are back with a fourth full length, will new vocalist Robert Lowe (ex-Candlemass) and drummer Ronnie Wallace.

What is on offer here is traditional metal of the type that was on tap in the late 80s (if you were smart enough to avoid hair metal, but not hardcore enough to embrace thrash). The production is very good, with each instrument and the vocals discernible and loud enough in the mix. Lowe's vocals are clean, but with a touch of gravel in them so they are not too boring.

But overall, there are simply too many plodding slow to mid-tempo tracks here for the album to be of real interest. Songs like "Fire Burns", "Hereafter", "Until the Day" and "When the Sky Falls" come and go with little to remember about them.

There are some pretty good tracks on here, however. If you are a trad metal fan, check out "The Darkness Comes", "Pieces of Mine", "Beacon of Light" and "From the Tower". These latter songs show some song writing flourishes that make the tracks not only heavy, but memorable....and that is the trick, isn't it?

Overall, this isn't a bad album but it is simply a genre of music that mostly lost my interest 35 years ago when Slayer, Venom and Razor upped Motorhead's ante. Add a full point to my score if you still hunt for new trad metal albums for your collection.

(6.5)