{"id":24819,"date":"2013-01-01T09:03:14","date_gmt":"2013-01-01T14:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=24819"},"modified":"2014-02-16T09:13:16","modified_gmt":"2014-02-16T14:13:16","slug":"mob-rules-cannibal-nation-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/mob-rules-cannibal-nation-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Mob Rules | Cannibal Nation<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"MobVeteran German power metal band Mob Rules is back with a new album, their seventh overall, titled Cannibal Nation<\/em>. A decade ago or so, back when they only had an album or two to their name, the prospect of a new Mob Rules album wouldn\u2019t have excited too many people. Starting in 2004, however, the band has released a series of stunning melodic power metal albums, each one better than the last, and has become one of the best bands the scene has to offer. Needless to say, Cannibal Nation<\/em> is a very highly anticipated release.<\/p>\n

With Cannibal Nation<\/em>, the band has stepped back from the more epic and conceptual elements of previous Mob Rules albums. You won\u2019t find any multi-part epics about historical events here. Instead, the band seems to have circled back to the simpler, more straightforward power metal of Among the Gods<\/em> and Hollowed Be Thy Name<\/em> years. This is both good and potentially bad. It\u2019s good because there really aren\u2019t many bands that play melodic power metal as good as Mob Rules. It\u2019s potentially bad because after watching the band challenge themselves and push the genre\u2019s boundaries over the past few releases, this feels almost too \u201csafe\u201d a choice. Still, it\u2019s hard to deny the power of songs like \u201cClose My Eyes,\u201d \u201cIce and Fire\u201d and of course the headbanging powerhouse title track. Longtime members Matthias Mineur and Klaus Dirks really shine here with intricate guitar work and soaring, powerful vocals, respectively. Between the two of them, this album has some irresistible melodies, and the rest of the band turns in a first rate performance as well. The album closes on a tranquil note with the serene \u201cSunrise,\u201d but the bonus (to both the limited digipack physical CD and the MP3 album) live performance of \u201cChildren of the Flames\u201d taken from the 2011 ProgPower USA festival ends things on a high note.<\/p>\n

While it doesn\u2019t quite live up to the standards of Radical Peace<\/em> and Among the Gods<\/em>, Cannibal Nation<\/em> is still a very strong power metal album from a band that does this kind of music very well. Besides, even an \u201caverage\u201d Mob Rules album is going to be heads and shoulders above the rest of the pack. If you\u2019re already a fan of Mob Rules, then by all means pick this album up. Give it a few spins if it doesn\u2019t wow you at first, because it is a \u201cgrower.\u201d If you\u2019re new to the band though, your best bet is to start with an album like Among the Gods<\/em> before circling back to Cannibal Nation<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Genre: Power Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nMatthias Mineur (g)
\nKlaus Dirks (v)
\nMarkus Brinkmann (b)
\nSven Ludke (g)
\nNikolas Fritz (d)
\nJan Christian Halfbrodt (k)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tClose My Eyes
\n2.\tLost
\n3.\tTele Box Fool
\n4.\tIce & Fire
\n5.\tSoldier of Fortune
\n6.\tThe Sirens
\n7.\tScream for the Sun (May 29th, 1953)
\n8.\tCannibal Nation
\n9.\tSunrise
\n10.\tChildren of the Flames (live)<\/p>\n

Label: AFM Records<\/p>\n

Website: www.mobrules.de<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines – Senior Columnist — Veteran German power metal band Mob Rules is back with a new album, their seventh overall, titled Cannibal Nation. A decade ago or so, back when they only […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[336,1097,334],"class_list":{"0":"post-24819","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2013","7":"tag-cd","8":"tag-power-metal","9":"tag-review"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24819\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}