Band:	Mob Rules
Album:	Tales From Beyond
Style:	Power metal
Release date:	March 18, 2016
A review by:	Belegûr

01. Dykemaster's Tale
02. Somerled
03. Signs
04. On The Edge
05. My Kingdom Come
06. The Healer
07. Dust Of Vengeance
08. A Tale From Beyond (Part 1: Through The Eye Of The Storm)
09. A Tale From Beyond (Part 2: A Mirror Inside)
10. A Tale From Beyond (Part 3: Science Save Me!)
11. Outer Space [bonus]

Have you ever wondered what Andi Deris (Helloween) would sound like singing Iron Maiden songs? Me neither, but Mob Rules have given us just that. The Iron Maiden part? Most definitely. I am quite shocked at how much Tales From Beyond sounds like Maiden in their Brave New World comeback era form. It really works though and Tales From Beyond is an impressive power metal album that never drags or feels padded out with filler.

I don't want to spend the entire review going on about how much this album sounds like Iron Maiden, but depending on your views on originality, it could be positive rather than a negative. "Dykemaster's Tale" starts things off and has all the British heavy metal necessities; clean guitar intro (think "Alexander The Great" from Somewhere In Time), gallops, soaring vocals and the calm outro after 8 minutes of tempo changes. It's still a very enjoyable track and makes me think fans of this style really should be paying attention to Mob Rules. "On The Edge" really sounds like a new wave of British heavy metal track, but is just so expertly done and it was at this point in the album where I stopped really holding this against the band.

There are countless bands who take influence from many of the giants of metal and despite it not being original, a good song is a good song. "The Healer" is fantastic blend of classic metal with German power metal of the 80's and 90's. Though I shouldn't be surprised, as this band has been about for over 20 years and I think their songwriting is getting better and better. The title track of the album is a 15 minute piece split into three parts and is a clear demonstration of the songwriting ability of the band. It's unpretentious, catchy and flows remarkably well.

It's not rare for me to review an album where I will fault it for lack of originality and this is no exception. However, Mob Rules spent 10 months in the studio perfecting this album and it really does show. This is a collection of excellent melodic heavy metal songs. While others argue about Iron Maiden and their creative choices in recent years, I'll be directing people towards this album.