The first six months of the year 2015have, as this first halfof the year is, indeed, almost over, been pretty good ones, both when it comes to live shows of Obituary, Master and Vader among others as well as new albums. This year we`ve gotten a number ofdecent, at least, albums of Morgoth, Enforcer, or Napalm Death.Betrayer is, nobly, back. Also, American Gruesome has surprised us with their successful debut album. How, in this context, does the group of Mark “the Shark” Shelton do? Hey, no surprise, but they`re backin glory, indeed. And this time we deal with a two disk album here and a hammer proudly pointing towards the sky.

"The Blessed Curse" opens with the Shark`s riff which is both ambient, soothing as well as slightly mystical and almost magical. This riff is really amazing – especially when combined with his vocals when he sings the first three verses from this over 90 minute long album in a very specific way. Despite his throat infection that`s been plaguing him for the last 30 years, Mark has done most of the vocals for this album. The leading vocalist Bryan "Hellroadie" Patrick has not even appeared on this album`s second disk. After the first minute of the title track, this calm atmosphere gets crushed by an attack of overdrive and banging drums and this is when Mark, hypnotically, starts to sing:

"This blessed curse is now my world
This blessed curse is what I'm worth"

The malicious sound that makes us think about stomping on faces of defeatedenemies is broken by slower moments which are continuity of the initial riff. Also, there is no lack of a decent solo, ok. The second, aggressive two minute long song, "Truth in the Ash" does not have any intention to soothe with any merry melodies. Thisis a typical Manilla Road cut that reminds one of such pieces of art as "The Ram" for instance. A really catchy riff, merciless whamming of drums in the refrain and grim breakdown. Hellroadie`s vocals are simpky awesome. Next comes "Tomes of Clay", an epic, eight minute long road roller, this track certainly is.

Noticeable is the apocalyptic atmosphere of this track and the crushing riff between the strophes. After such a dose of epic metal destruction there is another track coming – a purelyheavy metal killer "The Dead Still Speak". This track shows how powerful the Hellroadie`s vocals are. At the forefront we have Neudi showing off with his drumming skills. Memorable is the refrain`s riff, which is anxious and epic at the same time. Well, as the idea is to interweave slower, atmospheric tracks with faster ones, the next track is narrative "Falling".Again Shelton does the vocals. A well writtentrack, hypnotical riff, superb vocal lines and a long solo – so typical of Shark. it makes a listener lower his guard and hits him hard with "Kings of Invention" right in his face right afterwards!

The drummer takes no prisoners and smashes his drum kit no worse than the guitarists annihilate their instruments. Anothertrack: "Reign of Dreams" is another classic heavy metal killer – your brain is drilled by monotonous drumming. The next track - "Luxiferia's Light" is one of my favourite ones. The poignant atmosphere is well balanced with the melodic refrain – the guitars in this track just smash your mug. "Sword of Hate" is a solid track with an overwhelming riff and ends with an amazing odyssey of Mark who plays solo while he slows the music down. Thefirstdisk ends with "The Muses Kiss", an amazingly atmospheric ballad with Shark who does the vocals again. This track plainly shows what this band is all about. A blissful atmosphere that elicits extreme feelings and hypnotic instrument work. In short, a real masterpiece.

An additional disk titled "After the Muse" seems to be supplemental. Similarly to "The Blessed Curse," is starts with a calm, pretty narrative acoustic guitar riff. Well, in general disk 2 is more oriented on a more mellow type of songs and Shark`s vocals. We`ll not listen to any faster music or Bryan "Hellroadie" Patrick`s singing here. Theatmosphereof “Life Goes On", or "In Search of the Lost Chord" is pastoral, optimistic and thus overwhelming. Mark shows off with his guitar skills in "Reach", and the cherry on the cake is an epic, 15 minute long song titled "All Hallows Eve". Actually,there are two different versions of this song on this disk – the first one is a rehearsal version recorded back in 1981, and the second is a new one which Rick Fisher recorded the drums for (he actually did so on the thirst three albums). It is necessary as well as it is recommended that one get this record and listen to these two tracks. Ok, the second disk has made me hungry for Shark`s solo, acoustic and studio project – a brand new recording is on its way.