Think of this project as a Ripper-movement in reverse: four guys from a Manowar tribute band jammed with Ross, and then a child was born with sword in hand and fifteen-inch biceps. I guess this return (I can call it that, right?) to metal for Friedman is about as good as it'll ever get based on his various abilities: his riffs are an excellent concoction of speed and heaviness with enough fast and mid-paced material to please any metalhead, the songs are masterfully written, and his solos are absolutely blazing and fun. The group's identity is what you'd expect: slaying heavy/power metal. Obviously, the record has an overt Manowar vibe to it, but also a smudge of hard rock influence with all that meaty heaviness; it's quite an interesting mixture, albeit a great one.

I also have to say Patrick Fuchs is one of the most surprising singers in metal, although you've probably never heard of him unless you already jumped the gun and bought yourself a copy of "New Metal Leader." You could say his performance is fantastic, but it's the originality in his voice that makes him a great fit for Ross' style. His mega-high falsetto, however, kind of derails his usual glory because he sounds like a soon-to-be-adolescent getting kicked in the nuts, but it isn't anything to worry about overall; he's a great vocalist at day's end. Everything else? Well, it's just good heavy metal. I get a tingling sense that a lot of this album is just straight-up fun without a single thing to prove or redefine. Metallica put it best: nothing else matters.