Royal Hunt – Devil’s Dozen

Frontiers Records (2015)

Reviewer: Aaron Chatfield

 Devil’s Dozen is Royal Hunt’s 13^th studio album, which by any band is quite an achievement. Andre Andersen remains the driving force behind the music and direction of the band and as he is a keyboardist, Royal Hunt have always had a keyboard heavy sound, Devil’s Dozen doesn’t change the format dramatically.

First track up is ‘So Right, So Wrong’, opening with some orchestral hit style keyboard stabs that are often a motif of the band. The rest of the band drives in, delivering a bombastic epic sound, shaping the song for D.C. Cooper’s vocals. Royal Hunt have had some solid vocalists in their ranks, including John West and Mark Boals, but it is Cooper that is the signature voice of the band. The song is a typical Royal Hunt affair, with a catchy chorus, that you can soon be singing along to.

Opening with a balladesque piano, ‘May You Never (walk alone)’, follows our opener. Offering up more of the traditional Royal Hunt style, symphonic, epic, classical, all come to mind. Another big catchy chorus, well delivered by Cooper.

A pounding bassline kicks off our thirds track, ‘Heart On A Platter’, soon joined by the rest of the band. Has some great melody lines and nice choir vocals, that make it stand out a little from the previous couple of tracks.

‘A Tear In the Rain’ follows with no surprises, before Royal Hunt slows things down slightly for ‘Until The Day’. It’s not less epic in the sonic tapestry it paints, with guitars, vocals and keyboards weaving some glorious melodies.

‘Riches to Rags’ and ‘Way Too Late’ are working to the same pattern, before we arrive to album closer, ‘How Do You Know’, which changes the style slightly, taking a more hard rock direction. It’s still got that classical influences, but more accessible for the casual listener.

All in all, Devil’s Dozen is a solid release from a band that knows what it is good at. It’s probably not for fans of Motörhead, but if you like your metal with superlatives like epic, symphonic, etc, then you will be more than happy with this latest release from Andre and his crew.