The second Iron Mask album entitled 'Hordes Of The Brave' sees Mr Petrossi raise the bar once again for his own compositions. The album sees a much more powerful production than the debut, the song writing is better and the overall performances are superb.

Strictly speaking this is a classic neo-classical release with hints of power metal and more commercial waters, the mix between lead guitar glory and riffing is excellent, with the emphasis always being "for the track" from Dushan.

Petrossi has brought in a stunning new vocalist in the form of Goetz Mohre who is actually an old fried of guest vocalist Oliver Hartmann (ex At Vance). There is also the appearance of virtuosityone.com favourite Richard Andersson for keyboard solos. Dushan has again utilised the excellent rhythm section of Magic Kingdom (Vassili Moltchanov and Anton Arkhipov).

Opener "Holy War" sets the tone with his neo-classically fused opening riff before turning into more straightforward Painkiller era Judas Priest for the verse, the chorus is classic Power Metal. The track is not the most subtle on the album and by no means the strongest but it does make a solid statement of intent and Petrossi's soloing really grabs the attention.

"Freedoms Blood - The Patriot" is where the album starts to fire on all cylinders with its superb riff, with nice keyboard orchestration, this leads into a great straight riffing verse and a good pre-chorus before the anthemic chorus has soaring vocals from Goetz Mohre. The solo is simply superb opening with a classical motif from Dushan before the first of Richard Andersson's solos floors you. Petrossi answers this charge with equal aplomb almost melting his fretboard, but make sure you check out the attention to detail in the backing - for the record this solo duel is a throw back to prime Rising Force trade-offs between Malmsteen and Jens Johansson.

"Time" sees the pace slow and the mood get more melodic for this excellent slice of straight metal. Petrossi shows great depth as a writer here, and the performances from all involved are first class. The transition between verse/pre-chorus/chorus is superb and fans of acts like Masterplan will absolutely love this.

"The Invisible Empire" has another cracking riff yet with the emphasis on melody, not a million miles away from Eclipse-era Malmsteen in this respect. Again the vocal melody is a vital part of the track and the vocal delivery from Oliver Hartmann's first appearance makes a lasting impression. The guitar solo is another gem seeing Dushan work well with the backing provided beneath. A brief instrumental segment paves way for another solo from Richard Andersson which sees his trademark use of the pitch wheel work to good effect, overall an excellent track.

The breakneck "Demon's Child" sees the tone enter more into epic metal territories of the likes of Rhapsody before the strong neo-classical middle section leads us into another bout of frantic solo trading between Petrossi and Andersson - great great stuff.

"High In The Sky" is another powerhouse track that the likes of Iron Maiden would kill to own, its simple riff allows Goetz Mohr to really show what he can. This guy has a killer pair of lungs based somewhat between that of Jorn Lande, Bruce Dickinson with a hint of DC Cooper too, this track is likely to be contender for track of the 2005.

"Alexander The Great-Hordes Of The Brave" is an epic a track as the title would suggest with its dark, mystical slow tempo overtones that is testament to the skills Petrossi possesses. The track has everything in it with the slow pre-solo segment really upping the atmosphere before one of Dushan's best solo's on the album really cut through,excellent stuff.

Fans of Odyssey era Malmsteen will love "Crystal Tears" beginning with its majestic keyboard refrain before Dushan's Strat doubles the riff. This could have come straight from Malmsteen's "Odyssey" such is the quality. Oliver Hartmann's voice works the vocal melody to its full giving a great delivery. Dushan conjures up a suitably skilled solo which stays true to the melodic nature of the track yet manages to squeeze enough fretboard excess to satisfy the most hardcore of virtuoso guitar fans. The classy chorus sees the track out.

"Iced Winds Of The North" kicks off with some chilling sound effects before a fast intricate riff smacks you in the face. There is a nice neo-classical / power metal vibe here, the lyrics tell tales of yore with Hartmann and Mohr duet-ing on the track. The solo section is again straight from the top drawer, consisting of a Celtic feeling single note motif (not to dissimilar to Malmsteen's Braveheart).

The energy level and mood drops considerably for the power ballad "My Eternal Flame" which has a great European sound to it reminding me of the some of the great Scandi-metal acts such as Treat or Zeelion. The reduced tempo of the track allows Dushan plenty of space to throw in an emotional solo and he comes up with a gem of a solo, very melodic and classical in nature making nice use of harmonisation which makes the song classier. The great heartfelt chorus takes a modulation up and sees the track out.

Album closer "Troops Of Avalon" is another gem, starting with a riff that is quite Schenker-esque (think Captain Nemo) before it turns into a more metal delivery. As the title might suggest the track tells the tale of brave soldiers on a mission, the triplet led chorus has a nice regal touch. The vocal delivery from Goetz is again top notch showing great gusto and power which helps keep the track moving along at a cracking pace and closes the album in fine style.

'Hordes Of The Brave' is simply a superb ride through neo-classical and power metal territories that doesn't see the quality drop anywhere throughout the 11 track on offer. Dushan Petrossi is now a very serious force top be reckoned within the neo-classical/power metal genre and this album should see the Malmsteen-clone tag ripped up and thrown in the bin as it (along with Metallic Tragedy) clearly apparent that Petrossi has his own sound and vision.

Simply if you want a cracking slice of neo-classical power metal then "Hordes Of The Brave" is an essential purchase.

Hot Spots : Freedom's Blood, The Invisible Empire, High In The Sky, Crystal Tears

Rating : 95%