One of those albums that is very, very average but made more listenable by some cool guitar solos.

Ten years after their debut, German Metal monsters Infinity's Call have, for some reason, decided to give it another try. There seems to be a lot of this "massive gap between first and second albums" thing going on these days, and whilst it doesn't mean an album is going to be bad (see Crown of Glory elsewhere), I think ten years is pushing it unless your debut is hailed as a lost classic or something.

Anyway, I'd never heard of the band, so went in with open mind and ears, hoping for something sensational. What I got was an album that feels very retro and very 1980s Metal. The music is pretty chuggy, throwing pounding drums and relentless riffs at the listener, enlivened by some exceptional guitar work by Philipp Zanella, who is the undoubted star of the show. Vocalist Claus Zeller has a voice that is a bit "fingernails down the blackboard" to be honest. It's not too screechy, but something about his traditional Metal rasp just gives me a headache. It doesn't help that when there's no guitar solo most of the songs are very middle of the road, often similar to Skid Row, if they hadn't been all that good (if you see what I mean).

'Unconditional' is one of those albums that is very, very average but made more listenable by some cool guitar solos. If all the songs were more like the fast paced 'Emotional Evolution' rather than the plodding 'Unconditional Love' this would have worked, but they aren't, so it doesn't.

Alan Holloway