ROSS THE BOSS – By Blood Sworn

In a deliberate move to play to his long-time fans, with By Blood Sworn, Ross The Boss has produced a fun, throw-back album which draws heavily from his classical Manowar years. The vocal style (thanks to new RTB vocalist Marc Lopes), the guitar tones, drum sounds, and overall writing and arranging of the songs is blatantly reminiscent of the early Manowar albums, specifically Into Glory Ride and Hail To England. While this makes for a fun, fast album, the writing at times seems forced, and not all of the songs come across as welcome as their source material did. The title track, “By Blood Sworn” and the early album ripper “This Is Vengeance” are truly True Metal songs worthy of praise and might shouts of “Hail!”, but many of the other tracks fall short of their intended power.

Certainly, fans of the early Manowar sound will enjoy this album, even if not all the songs are up for repeat listening. The production quality, like the writing, is deliberate and has a certain vintage quality to it. This may be a put-off to fans of more modern acts, even modern Power Metal acts. Despite By Blood Sworn‘s rough edges and inconsistencies, Ross The Boss as an artist is still a veteran, much-loved figure among metalheads and this album will only serve to further cement his legacy.

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