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Track Listing: Deus Ex Machina Nail It Down Mary-Anne The Lie Radicalizer Calling the Demon Go To Hell Enter the Gun Sadistico Rolling Into Ruin The Keepers of Doom Slave 24/7 Bad Ass

Rising from the ashes of Alan Costa's previous band Taletellers Soulsellers in 2005, German hard rock band Taletellers was formed, and after receiving generally positive reviews for their debut full-length "Detonator", they are ready to release their second album "Radicalizer". The album title is apt in many ways, as the band has gone through line-up and label changes. But after all, the important thing was whether or not the music itself underwent any radical changes as compared to the debut.

After the short little intro "Deus Ex Machina" which somewhat reminds me of Judas Priest's "Judas Rising", a couple of simple hard rock tunes like "Nail It Down" and "Mary-Anne" get the album off to an easy-paced, relaxed start. "The Lie" takes it up a notch and offers a bit more in terms of musical variations within the song, as some sweet guitar harmonies decorate this tune along with solid contributions on the bass and drums. The title song builds on this foundation and continues the good work done by its predecessors. "Calling The Demon" is pretty similar in musical style and tempo, but perhaps sounds a bit darker than most other tunes on the album.

Feel-good rock tunes are in abundance here, as "Go To Hell" and "Enter The Gun" follow, with the latter turning out to be one of the best tracks on the album, simply because it's the most full-sounding tune and one that is an apt representation of the album as a whole. From among the remaining five tracks, "Rolling Into Ruin" caught my attention as it's easily the most 'metal' tune on the album with some shredding and double bass drum parts in its latter half. But that said, "The Keepers Of Doom" and "Slave" are certainly good tunes as well.

Overall, the album has a bit of sameness about it throughout its 43-minute duration, but that isn't a bad thing for a feel-good hard rock album such as this. The music isn't the kind that would make you want to punch someone in the face, but is rather the kind that you'd like to kick back with or spin in your car stereo while driving. I would recommend "The Lie", "Enter The Gun" and "Rolling Into Ruin" as the best tracks on it. Besides the music, the cover artwork is truly kickass and one that I would certainly want to savour on vinyl.

A pleasantly enjoyable throwback to some good ol' hard rock.