Band:	Death Dealer
Album:	Hallowed Ground
Style:	US power metal
Release date:	October 02, 2015
A review by:	Belegûr

01. Gunslinger
02. Break The Silence
03. Plan Of Attack
04. Seance
05. Llega El Diablo
06. The Way Of The Gun
07. K.I.L.L.
08. I Am The Revolution
09. Total Devastation
10. The Anthem
11. Corruption Of Blood
12. Skull And Cross Bones
13. U-666

Hallowed Ground is a very surprising album; it manages to be completely forgettable and average despite being made by one of the best lineups a US power metal band could ever hope to have.

Death Dealer boasts an absolutely fantastic lineup; with former members of such prominent acts like: Halford, Into Eternity, Dungeon, Cage, and Manowar. I hadn't heard the previous effort War Master, but was eager to get into this one solely based on the impressive lineup. What I was met with was an album that obviously owes its entire existence to Judas Priest and Mercyful Fate. Almost every song reminded me of one or both of these bands and if you are interested in this sort of hero worship then "Hallowed Ground" will definitely appeal to you in a big way.

Sean Peck is definitely a technically impressive vocalist and has a fantastic scream, but an hour of his wails really started to bother me. I'm usually a big fan of over the top high pitched vocals and even surprised myself when I started to wish that he would be quiet for a minute or two and let the other instruments take over. A shorter album would have made me enjoy his performance a bit more. Unfortunately no other band member stands out at all throughout the entire album; guitars, drums and bass (while played well) could have been played by absolutely anyone and it's a definite waste of some great talent. These guys should definitely be more than capable of writing some excellent heavy metal that doesn't just sound like filler tracks from Primal Fear or Judas Priest. Ross The Boss is present of course, but he doesn't do anything special at all and his work in the 80's with Manowar is still the best thing he has done by far.

So what is it that's actually wrong with the album? Well, let's start with the lyrics; "heavy metal 'til we die, heavy metal, you and I". Need I go on? I for one am absolutely bored of songs about how amazing heavy metal is. "The Anthem" is your standard "true metal" fare and its lyrics would probably make Joey DeMaio of Manowar blush. Writing a song about how awesome metal music is just seems like some space on the CD had to be filled and it's the easiest way to do it. Thankfully every song isn't like this, but the lyrics are still rather forgettable throughout. When it comes to the music, I would be lying if I denied that some songs have some nice riffs and solos. Tracks like "U 666", "I Am The Revolution" and "Plan Of Attack" definitely have their moments. "Skull And Cross Bones" is a rather enjoyable pirate themed track, but like all of the songs on this album it just reminds me of another band. Guess who? That's right...Running Wild. On the plus side, the band play the music very well and it isn't difficult to listen to.

At nearly one hour, Hallowed Ground certainly drags on a bit. Getting rid of 3 or maybe even 4 tracks and having the album clock in at around 40-45 minutes could have improved things greatly. With 13 tracks, you are made aware of the fact that there aren't many ideas on show here and it starts to become samey very quickly. This means that little interesting pieces like "Llega El Diablo" are completely overshadowed by generic songs like "The Way Of The Gun". I praised Symphony X earlier in the year for having almost perfect track organisation and listening to Hallowed Ground actually makes me appreciate this oft-overlooked aspect of an album. You simply cannot say you enjoy an album if you are checking how long it has left and this is what I was doing numerous times with this album.

So Death Dealer have failed to create something particularly memorable, but if you are a big US power metal fan, then you will probably find some enjoyable tracks here. I would definitely recommend this album to people who were disappointed in the latest Judas Priest effort Redeemer Of Souls, but leave your hopes for some originality at the door. Hallowed Ground is one of those albums you won't want to sit and listen to from start to finish, but might find yourself putting 1 or 2 tracks onto a random playlist. A very average album that should have offered something more based on its lineup.