There are gifted singers who have a unique, memorable and charismatic vocal style that one could easily identify among many others. However, some of these singers are somehow unable to capitalize on their natural talent and always sound exactly the same. It doesn't matter whether they perform a power ballad, a fast heavy metal tune with thrash metal elements or an atmospheric epic, they always employ the exact same approach and manage to make even the most diversified song writing sound exchangeable or even boring at a certain point. In my opinion, this is the case for the overrated one-trick pony Ronnie James Dio, his equally limited imitator Jorn Lande and obviously Armored Saint lead singer John Bush. It's obviously a matter of taste and many people might actually disagree with me and even claim that said singer is the greatest singer thrash metal veterans Anthrax have ever had. I couldn't disagree more and find Anthrax's lifeless alternative rock releases from the mid-nineties to the early years of the millennium average at best and dreadful in most cases. That's not only due to at times uninspired song writing and stylistic shifts but also and perhaps mostly to the singer. Armored Saint's Punching the Sky sounds better than those releases because the song writing is much more inspired but the vocalist keeps this album from unfolding its full potential in my ears. His repetitive, predictable and forced style made it difficult for me to sit through the entire release in one single try. With a more diversified, inspired and passionate singer, this album would easily be better than above average and could certainly be considered very good.

Aside of the vocals, there are several songs that offer very interesting instrumental performances. The epic opener ''Standing on the Shoulders of Giants'' convinces with heartfelt Uilleann pipes sounds, dreamy guitar play and tribal drum patterns that evolve into an epic modern heavy metal tune. ''My Jurisdiction'' builds up a gloomy and menacing atmosphere with sinister bass sounds and low almost grunge-inspired guitar sounds. ''Fly in the Ointment'' surprises with eerie sound effects that clash with melodic guitar play in an experimental power ballad. The elegiac and slow ''Unfair'' once again recalls grunge and alternative rock stylistics from the nineties in an moody and profound way. The song playfully tricks you into expecting it to explode anytime but interestingly meanders to slow things down and accelerate at unexpected moments. This track feels like a nearly cinematic rollercoaster ride where the skilled song writing shines through at all time.

As you can read, Armored Saint's song writing, diversified style and instrumental performances are very good and even reach excellence in the record's best moments. However, the tiresome vocals harm the final result significantly and make what might otherwise have been a candidate for one of the best albums of the year a quite mixed bag. Now, if you really admire John Bush because his unique vocal style is your kind of thing, then please listen to this album and you will most certainly enjoy it at its fullest. In my case however, the vocals prevent this album from sounding very good to excellent and make it only a good average record. I'm certainly no fan of bands rerecording their music in general but if this album or even parts of it were ever performed with a different singer, I would most certainly give it a try again.

Final rating: 70%

This is the second and last studio album featuring former singer Arthur Berkut that Russian heavy metal pioneers Aria decided to record again with their current line-up. While the new recordings worked well for the other album in its atmospheric, calm and epic parts, they don't work particularly well on this traditional heavy metal album.

A good example for this is album opener ''Последний закат'' that started the original release with a bang with energetic rhythm section, heavy riffs and passionate vocals. The new version sounds more melodic and tame and while Mikhail Zhitnyakov's vocals sound decent as usual, the instrumental work sounds uninspired. Another obvious example is original single ''Чужой'' that made heads turn back in the days with a surprisingly dark sound with industrial soundscapes and slightly discordant guitar effects. The new version sounds much more polished which could please to fans of traditional metal but takes away the unique identity of the original version in my opinion.

The enhanced keyboard sounds and more polished guitar sound benefit the album's few calm and epic tunes. ''Викинг'' for instance has an intriguingly elegiac tone that invites to dream yourself far away. Bonus track ''На крыльях ветра'' had initially been released three years after the original album and was composed by Alexander Borodin for the opera Prince Igor and adapted and arranged by Aria guitarist Vladimir Kholstinin. This unusual instrumental tune works well in the context of this new mellower version of the original album.

In the end, this re-recorded version doesn't have the energy, flow and grit of the original album as especially the bass guitar sounds less domineering while keyboard passages enhance mellower soundscapes. This approach doesn't work well for the record's shorter an heavier tunes and only offers interesting new soundscapes in the few more atmospheric tunes. In the end, this re-recording was rather unnecessary and is only interesting for avid collectors and die-hard fans. Anyone else should stick to the better original version that offers very good traditional heavy metal with powerful rhythm section, energetic vocals and crunchy guitar sound.

Final rating: 70%

After two regular studio albums, Chilean symphonic metal quartet Chaos Magic around lead singer Caterina Nix offers an extended play featuring four quite diversified cover songs with a total running time of eighteen minutes.

Initially, I was hoping that the band would cover Grave Digger's brutal heavy metal stomper of the same title but the Chilean quartet opted to cover Sting's ''Desert Rose''. It features inspired guest vocals by Zaher Zorgati of progressive power metal band Myrath from Tunisia. The song also features veteran drummer Mike Terrana who had collaborated with former Nightwish singer Tarja Turunen in the past whose music sounds rather similar to what Chaos Magic has to offer. The final result is entertaining but sounds somewhat overloaded in my opinion and doesn't leave any deeper impression. It's the same thing for Faith No More's ''Ashes to Ashes'' that sounds decent without being impressive.

The other two cover songs are however much better. Bruce Dickinson's ''Accident of Birth'' had a rather dark sound in its original version and featured sinister guitar riffs and gloomy vocal effects. Chaos Magic's version sound much more natural and avoids too many sound effects. Caterina Nix's vocals really manage to shine in the chorus. In my humble opinion, this cover version is a slight improvement over the original tune. The band also offers an emotional rendition of Duran Duran's ''Ordinary World'' with wonderful guitar and keyboard melodies and passionate vocals. The original version might be Duran Duran's greatest song ever and Chaos Magic don't manage to equal the original's melancholy. However, the band gets surprisingly close which makes its version a very good song in general and easily the best on this particular extended play.

In the end, one has to wonder who would buy such an extended play. Releasing a selection of cover songs after only two regular studio albums might come a little bit early in the band's career in my opinion. However, these four songs show that the band has multiple diversified influences that might hint at interesting original song writing in the future. The quartet might be on the right track to consequently improve from its average debut album and its decent sophomore release. Ironically, Desert Rose is actually the band's best release so far. This is why female-fronted symphonic metal fans should keep an eye on the group and verify whether the quartet's next regular studio output takes another step in the right direction.

Final rating: 70%