Let's adress the elephant in the room: new singer Marc Lopes. He yells, shouts and screams in every single song as if he were terrorized and fighting for survival. My mother would ask: Why does this gentleman scream so loudly, is he hurt? This vocal style might work in a select few cases such as brilliant Manowar cover ''Hail and Kill'' that needs to be performed so ferociously due to its gruesome lyrics. In most cases however, the singer sounds overtly motivated to a point when it becomes a trope that is unintentionally amusing. Don't get me wrong, a few energizing screams and shouts here and there are perfectly fine but when the singer does nothing but that it ends up sounding annoying at least or ridiculous at worst.

This is a shame since the song writing is alright. It's nothing groundbreaking of course. In a time when Manowar's last respectable release traces back at least ten years, it's however great to have one of its former members around who is holding the hammer high. The guitar riffs are powerful and the solos blistering. The rhythm section provides flow and pace as well but the guitar play is much more domineering here than on actual Manowar records. The use of keyboards is also decent and gives some tunes a majestic, epic and cinematic feeling. Tunes likle the crushing ''I Am Vengeance'' or the elaborate ''Lilith'' would fit on any play list for a metal party.

After listening to a few tunes however, one has to take a break because the singer is pushing things too far. There are grindcore singers and gangster rappers who sound more relaxing than he does. Slow down, God can hear you! Perhaps this overtly energetic performance works better in concert but the previous line-up with a different singer was overall better than this new revamped version of Ross the Boss. Bring back the line-up you had between 2015 and 2016 and record an album with it. There's still a need for traditional heavy metal with atmosphere, attitude and guts but it shouldn't be performed the way it is on By Blood Sworn.

Final rating: 65%

Arrival of Autumn

Red

In Flames at the start of its set

In Flames halfway through its set

The Swedish quintet delivered the goods

 Crowdsurfing and moshpits during the show

The band ended the set on a high note