Aria's entry into the '90s sees them keeping the heavy metal flame alive at a time when so many metal bands were starting to drop like flies. Blood for Blood is not as instantly likeable as the albums that preceded it and it took me a few listens for it to finally sink in. The Maiden influences are still present here, some from the Powerslave era (one short passage on "Antichrist" sounds right out of "Rime of the Ancient Mariner"—awesome), but mostly from Seventh Son of Seventh Son. If you like Maiden's more melodic and progressive approach on that one, you'll find a lot to like here. They mixed things up a bit between the in-your-face, fist-pumping headbangable '80s heavy metal and a more progressive and darker style, their songwriting evolving into more "mature" compositions, if you will. The vocal melodies are as infectious as ever (though I'm not fond of the chorus on "Zombie"), which is pretty much a given on all Aria albums. There are tons of solos here that are give the vocals a run for their money in terms of catching your attention—lots of fun to be had listening to those. Blood for Blood asks for a little more effort on the listener's part, but the reward is a set of very good melodic and crunchy heavy metal.
