Crimen Laesae Majestatis Divinae

I wasn't expecting much from this, but as it turns out this is some fun old school-meets-new school Heavy Metal (firmly rooted in the old, however.) I had read that the singer sounds like King Diamond, and he's definitely in the same style though his range is not quite as good, but he makes up for it with a slightly more raucous style. Those who can't stand King Diamond/Mercyful Fate because of the vocals will most likely hate this (their loss.)

Musically this also borrows quite a bit from Mercyful Fate at times – catchy, fast Heavy Metal with a lot of melodies and enough solos to break the strings on your air guitar. The old school vibe – early to mid 80s – is omnipresent but the production is "modern-clear" and the songwriting does borrow from newer ideas such as European Power Metal, all the while without ruining the roots. I was surprised to see most songs over 5-6 minutes, the closing track even nearing 10 minutes in a style that usually sticks to much shorter compositions. I guess if you've been missing Mercyful Fate, this is a decent replacement. Ultimately this is solid Heavy Metal.