Even after many years of unusual finds when CD hunting, I'm always more surprised than I probably should be to find cheap discs from relatively exotic locales. South Korean CDs like this are certainly a rarity in the bargain bins, but I've found at least one before, so not entirely unheard of.
The "Metal will never die!" text and sword illustration on the cover meant I was going to buy this no matter what, but the inside of the booklet was far less promising. The band photos look like a (decidedly unheavy) contemporary rock band of some sort, and the opening track is an acoustic ballad. Ultimately, it ends up being an uneven album. Tracks 2, 3, and "I Wanna Be Free" are all solid heavy/power metal and well worth the purchase, but the rest of the album isn't that noteworthy. There are 4 balladish songs which felt a bit excessive given the cover proclamation and the album's running time. The other 5 tracks have the same metallic guitars and even some decent riffs and soloing at times, but the songwriting and execution feel a lot more rock-ish and upbeat than the full-on metal tracks. It's also evident that the mix and slick production benefit these types of tracks more than the heavier ones. I probably still would have bought it if the album were just comprised of these types of songs, although I wouldn't have been particularly excited about it. Despite some inconsistency, well worth the price for the 3 good songs.
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