I had been holding out for the deluxe version of this with the bonus disc of '80s recordings, but I obviously wasn't going to leave the regular edition in the store when it was two bucks. The tracks from the band's old 7" EP are fine, but I never regarded them that highly among the NWOBHM. There's a certain weirdness and pompous theatricality to them where I can understand why they are liked, but they just never resonated with me personally the way stuff like Deep Switch did. When I saw their rather silly comeback look, quite frankly, I wasn't in any great hurry to check them out--especially with Kev Bower's dreadlocks, they reminded me of old men cosplaying as a low-budget version of Cradle of Filth. Also, for better or for worse, I noticed that most of the people heaping praise on their reunion material seemed to be fans of contemporary metal who came across the band due to their higher visibility as a Nuclear Blast signee, rather than '80s metal maniacs digging up rare gems.
It's not bad, but unfortunately, as you might expect from a Nuclear Blast release, it feels a bit too polished and overproduced for what it is. As with the original versions, while they're fine to listen to, but I don't think the band is ever destined to reach a particularly favored status in my mind. On the plus side, the vocals are a solid substitute for the deceased Dave Halliday, and I actually enjoyed the end of the album a lot more than the first few tracks. The new version of "Save Us from Those Who Would Save Us" is a highlight and probably worth the $2 by itself.
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