REVIEW: DORO – “CONQUERESS – FOREVER STRONG AND PROUD”

The Metal Queen celebrates 40 years of active service with a brand new album, 15 tracks of bombastic metal with some nice surprises!

Doro Pesch is a lady who requires no introduction. The esteemed “Metal Queen” has been flying the flag for heavy metal since her first band WARLOCK in the early 80’s. Still in her teens, Doro released her first album in 1983, the awesome “Burning The Witches” and hasn’t stopped since, consistently putting out new music and a relentless touring schedule.

This new album from the German rocker doesn’t break any new ground, instead it fortifies what has preceded it – straight to the point anthemic metal that rocks hard, with the odd ballad thrown in for good measure. The production is massive as you’d expect from an artist of this calibre, with clearly a huge budget behind it. There’s a lot going on with the album, and not all of it is stellar. Is the steel still true? Let’s see…

First track “Children of the Dawn” begins with a very 80’s feel going into a foreboding stadium like intro leading into a power metal-esque track. Melodic metal is the order of the day here, which is prevalent through the rest of the album. “Fire In The Sky” picks up the pace in the form of an old school thrasher! Some interesting mixing decisions in the panning don’t do the track any favours, but the energy is there. The vocals are prominent as you’d expect but somewhat lack in power. A surprise track up next, a cover of “Living After Midnight” with non other than the Metal God himself performing with the Metal Queen! Trading lines and a solid performance throughout, this track is a testament to the longevity and immortality of heavy metal. “All For You” initially alludes you into what you think is a ballad, but soon bursts into a high energy rock track with tons of swagger. One thing that is made clear, although Doro is the main focus here the band behind her are fully competent and class musicians in their own right. I’ve seen the band a few times and this translates on stage too. The leads so far have been pretty great, mixing melody and shred seamlessly.

Clocking in at track five is the anthem “Lean Mean Rock Machine”, a double bass laden rocker which so far calls back to those classic WARLOCK albums the most. Straight to the point metal, executed with no compromise. The heaviest track so far is next – “I Will Prevail”. A very modern sounding track, with crushing riffs and a lot of stomp. Take Doro out and this could easily fit on any contemporary DESTRUCTION or KREATOR album. One thing that is consistent throughout this album is every track averages around 3 or 4 minutes with all following a tried and tested structural formula. In stark contrast to this bruiser, is the next song “Bond Unending” with Doro tapping into a more sensitive sounding vocal style, very much a power ballad. This is a duet with Sammy Amara from Dusseldorf’s punk act BROILERS. Certainly a different sounding track but welcome nonetheless. “Time For Justice”, one of the singles for the album, is next. A metal stormer in which Doro leans into a more aggressive style, and one of the standout tracks on the album. A singalong chorus and catchy verse section, heaps of melody and hooks destined to be a live staple I’m sure. The music video is proper cool too, be sure to check it out!

Now it wouldn’t be a Doro album without a proper ballad! “Fels In Der Brandung” (translated to “Pillars of Strength) breaks up the the rock assault thus far. Not much to say here, some nice orchestral moments but let’s be honest that’s not what we’ve come here for! In all Doro / Warlock albums there has always been lighter tracks, that tap into soft rock, and “Love Breaks Chains” is no exception to that. One of the longer tracks on the record, this is a proper metal ballad. Soaring guitars, huge chords and uplifting lyrics. There’s enough metal chug to keep the momentum going too. Switching the energy somewhat, “Drive Me Wild” is a hair flipping stomper filled with raunchy riffing. This is the sort of song perfectly fitting for midnight on a main stage at a huge metal festival. “Rise” up next, a thrasher with a nice lead guitar introduction, we need more of that. Again this is very much like an old school Warlock, meat and potatoes metal! A catchy chorus and driving riffing pulls this song to the stark contrast “Best In Me”, another ballad. This song is not so great in my opinion, with the vocals falling flat and a predictable structure. The penultimate track “Heavenly Creatures” restores the metal magic, a really cool track where the whole band shines, the energy is high and vocals soar. A cool bluesy mid section breaks it down before coming back in rock power! So onto the last track, another great surprise – another duet with Rob Halford and another cover, this time the stone cold Bonnie Tyler classic “Total Eclipse of the Heart”. You can tell they both had a great time with this, and is a faithful cover, metalised for good measure. A wicked way to round off the album.

Conclusion

Clocking in at nearly an hour this is a monster of an album. There’s some great moments as well as some what seems like filler, 15 tracks with 2 covers included is a huge undertaking and does drag on at times. There’s some surprising turns and a couple of awesome metal anthems but a few times I found my attention was lost, with the run of the mill compositions. But after 40 years Doro still remains doing what she does best – releasing solid rock albums and not comprising on her attitude and this “Conqueress” is no exception.

THENWOTHM Score: 6.5/10

DORO links:

http://www.doro.us
http://www.doromusic.com
http://www.instagram.com/dorometalqueen
http://www.facebook.com/DoroPeschOfficial
http://www.patreon.com/doropesch
http://www.tiktok.com/@doropeschofficial
http://www.twitter.com/DoroOfficial