Alestorm's brand-new extended play Voyage of the Dead Marauder includes five songs for a running time of sixteen minutes. Just like the weird cover artwork indicates, that release is running at half speed.

The first two tracks are by far the best. They are original tunes in the classic style of folk, heavy and power metal about piracy that has become the quintet's trademark. Both songs shouldn't be considered leftovers since they would have deserved their spots on regular full length efforts. Title track ''Voyage of the Dead Marauder'' is a catchy, joyful and melodic mid-tempo track featuring clear, harmonious and uplifting female guest vocals and some danceable, dynamic and inspiring hurdy gurdy sounds performed by Patty Gurdy. Her elegant style completes the quintet's rougher side splendidly. This mixture thus makes for one of the greatest songs in the band's career. The song ''Uzbekistan'' is almost equally strong as it offers concise shanty metal in less than three and a half minutes with keyboard fanfares, occasional harsh vocals and a melodic chorus with amusing lyrics describing the landlocked country as a true pirate nation.

Up next, this extended play offers two cover tracks. ''The Last Saskatchewan Pirate'' by The Arrogant Worms is in the same key as the previous song and tells the tale of a man becoming a pirate in the landlocked Canadian province known for its agriculture and harsh winters. The track is thus amusing, catchy and entertaining all at once. The other cover track ''Sea Shanty 2'' by Ian Taylor is a tame instrumental tune clocking in at exactly two minutes that is completely forgettable.

The final track ''Cock'' is the band's attempt to go back to previous successes with absurd lyrics and the occasional debatable vocabulary. While songs such as ''Fucked with an Anchor'' and ''Shit Boat (No Fans)'' were truly amusing, entertaining and surprising, this song here is predictable, repetitive and uninspired. Alestorm can do much better in this particular category and only unconditional fans should even take the time to listen to that stinker.

At the end of the day, Alestorm's Voyage of the Dead Marauder offers three excellent songs followed by two stinkers which makes for an overall just passable impression. Faithful fans should give this extended play a few spins while occasional listeners can skip this output entirely without any regrets. Let's wait for the group's next full length effort and let's hope for new concerts around the globe since the sympathetic quintet is best enjoyed on stage.

Final Rating: 60%

Bruce Dickinson's seventh studio record The Mandrake Project has been in the works for two decades and comes a whopping nineteen years after his last solo output Tyranny of Souls. This is due to his involvement in heavy metal flagship Iron Maiden and numerous other activities such as brewing beer, flying planes and getting married. The Mandrake Project continues the gloomy heavy metal style of the three immediate predecessors and mostly recalls Bruce Dickinson's greatest solo effort The Chemical Wedding that is already two and a half decades old at this point. The final result qualifies as very good heavy metal album but calling it excellent or perfect would go a little bit too far. I would put it on the same level of quality as immediate predecessor Tyranny of Souls.

This album starts on a particularly high note with ''Afterglow of Ragnarok''. This song starts with gothic soundscapes based upon low bass guitar sounds and heavy drums before an absolutely energizing guitar riff kicks in. Additional keyboard soon offers a cinematic dimension to this conceptual opener. Bruce Dickinson's vocals in the verses are low, they get a little bit higher in the pre-chorus and the chorus itself is incredibly catchy, engaging and motivating. As if all these wonderful elements weren't enough, the opener even surprises with a few atmospheric growls and a mysterious keyboard coda to end the first single on the highest note. Let's not forget that an absolutely amazing music video was created for this song and that it was released as a single with an outstanding cover artwork and a rare bonus track that should particularly intrigue Iron Maiden fans. The production of the song suits its atmosphere perfectly and is the cherry atop the cake. There is no doubt that this opener announces Bruce Dickinson's return on the highest possible note.

The legendary singer is able to equal the outstanding quality of this opener on a few occasions. Let's take second single ''Rain on the Graves'' for instance. This song opens with gloomy heavy metal riffs supported by a powerful rhythm section and dramatic keyboard sounds. The vocals sound gloomy, low and menacing in the verses. The chorus then surprises with perfectly controlled high-pitched vocals you just won't get out of your head. Even just writing about this catchy, dramatic and epic chorus sends shivers down my spine. This excellent second single was also supported with an atmospheric music video introducing us to the members of this band who have been recording this remarkable album.

Another song that deserves much attention is ''Eternity Has Failed''. As you might have guessed by reading its title, the song is a revamped version of ''If Eternity Should Fail'' from Iron Maiden's The Book of Souls. In retrospective, heavy metal fans must thank Iron Maiden's band leader Steve Harris for recognizing the quality of this track, modifying a few elements here and there and adapting it as an album and concert opener. Bruce Dickinson's version has taken another nine years to see the light of day and has gone through some significant changes. The use of Latin American tribal folk elements makes this new version particularly atmospheric. The overall pace of the song is slower which fits with the gloomy overall tone of the record and gives this song an epic doom metal vibe. The vocals sound more natural and less strained which fits perfectly in this context. The song's conclusion is short and to the point as it doesn't overstay its welcome and clocks in at roughly a minute and a half less than Iron Maiden's version. Many fans claim to prefer Bruce Dickinson's version over Iron Maiden's version but I would actually call it a draw since both songs stand out for different reasons and deserve to be explored on their own.

A last song that I would like to describe in greater depth is ''Shadow of the Gods'' which is best described as gloomy heavy metal song with relentless energy and sinister atmosphere. This song stands out in particular because it references Bruce Dickinson's record The Chemical Wedding. Several melodies and even lyrics recall the title track from that album to be precise. If you are a fan of said record like I am, this creative return to the record should certainly put a bright smile upon your face. This new song deserves to be revisited time and again to discover further references. Strictly instrumentally and vocally speaking, this track isn't as strong as the three aforementioned tunes but its fitting nostalgia and clever references make it stand out in the singer's discography.

There are a few reasons why Bruce Dickinson's The Mandrake Project isn't material for record of the year, of the month or even of the week. First and foremost, similar heavy metal groups such as Grand Courage and Judas Priest have recently been putting out even more consistent material. Believe me when I say that this year is already an excellent one for traditional heavy metal fans.

Furthermore, this record includes a few fillers such as bland futuristic rocker ''Mistress of Mercy'' that drags on for too long, tame ballad ''Face in the Mirror'' that can't compete with several tunes of yore and overall disappointing closer ''Sonata (Immortal Beloved)'' that is certainly ambitious but must overall be considered a failed experiment due to its excessive length as it never quite gets to the point.

Despite such noteworthy flaws, it's simply a blessing to hear Bruce Dickinson's first new material in nineteen long years on The Mandrake Project. If you appreciate atmospheric, conceptual and intellectual heavy metal, you are certainly going to be adoring this record.

Final Rating: 83%

Myrath's sixth official full length effort Karma was already scheduled to be released last autumn but it was pushed back for about six months. Fans were instead overwhelmed with five different singles in the past few months. If that strategy was based upon the group's label, then the French-Tunisian quartet should realize that it deserves better and change business partners as soon as possible.

The group's new output Karma comes five years after Shelili and few things have changed on these eleven new songs with a total running time of forty-eight minutes. The band unites a steady heavy metal rhythm section with occasional djent riffs in combination with mellow symphonic power metal sounds and occasional folk soundscapes from the Maghreb. The songwriting is concise, focused and streamlined. Most songs come around with catchy choruses crowned by Zaher Zorgati's versatile, emotional and colourful vocals.

However, the quartet doesn't manage to unfold its full potential and overall delivers an album that qualifies as slightly above average at best. That unsatisfactory result is due to three precise reasons.

First and foremost, the production is bland, generic and streamlined as it suffocates any potential energy and makes the final result sound dull, lifeless and uninspired.

Up next, the songwriting features too much repetition. The quartet fails to take any risks on this output. The vast majority of tracks rushes by without leaving any lasting impressions other than mild boredom. That's even the case after multiple spins, so don't expect an album that might grow on you and surprise you in the long run.

Lastly, the band has completely abandoned its original identity as Middle Eastern progressive metal band on outputs such as Hope, Desert Call and Tale of the Sands. Instead, the band aims for commercial success with pop melodies, simple musicianship and mellow soundscapes. Myrath plays the kind of background music requested for the current Prince of Persia reboot. However, this talented quartet can be so much more than just that. Since success in the business department has still not been achieved so many years into its career, the band should sincerely go back to its beloved roots that made the quartet stand out in the very first place.

This is what Karma is all about after all. If you do good things to your fans and yourself, then good things will be happening to everyone involved and interested. If however you try to adapt a new identity that just doesn't quite seem to fit, the band might fall into oblivion and disrepair. While Myrath's Karma is still acceptable at the end of the line, here's hope that this output is the last of its genre and that the band starts exploring and experimenting again on its next studio record.

Final Rating: 70%

Just as the group's cover artworks have progressively become more colourful, eclectic and light-hearted, the sound of British power metal quintet DragonForce has become significantly more catchy, commercial and joyful. Warp Speed Warriors offers ten songs with a running time of forty-nine minutes that even includes a quirky cover of Taylor Swift's ''Wildest Dreams'' to appeal to millennials around the world.

While traditional metal fans or supporters of the band's origins might feel somewhat confused or even irritated by the band's shifting identity, Warp Speed Warriors is only the next logical step in this development. This record doesn't offer much depth but instead invites to dance, jump and sing along. Instead of being played in the early evening at your local metal pub, some of the songs on here could be played in the middle of the night at any discotheque with experimental DeeJanes and DeeJays.

''Space Marine Corp'' for instance combines military chants with pop melodies and saccharine power metal riffs and vocals supported by versatile drum play and thunderous bass guitar patterns. This quirky combination of genres works surprisingly well and hails as one of the record's most memorable songs that should deliver in spades in concert.

''Doomsday Party'' on the other side is the obvious single candidate that combines electronic pop music of the eighties with mellow power metal hearkening back to the late nineties with a highly processed production on the pulse of time. One could totally see oneself dancing to this quirky tune with a romantic partner at three o'clock in the morning while headbanging, moshpits and walls of death are certainly no realistic options for this selection.

Even Taylor Swift's ''Wildest Dreams'' was appropriately adapted into the band's charismatic soundscapes with quick guitar play, explosive rhythm section and extremely joyful vocals. The lyrics were also slightly changed to suit the group's current identity. This song is a guilty pleasure closing a highly entertaining record appropriately.

Even though DragonForce's Warp Speed Warriors offers entertainment over depth, it's a joy listening through these ten songs that entertain through forty-nine dynamic minutes. There might not be too many reasons to revisit this output but it's certainly easier to digest than the band's overloaded song structures of yore and its first failed attempt at commercial success from a decade ago. DragonForce has reworked its approach, identity and songwriting and now cemented its own new style with newfound experience, focus and wisdom on the thin line between electronic pop music and saccharine power metal. Some fans might dig it, others might hate it but one can't deny that DragonForce's band members now know better what they are doing than they have for the last decade and a half.

Final Rating: 75%