Gloryhammer - Return to the Kingdom of Fife (2023)^{Release ID: 45086}

OK, I'll give the album this: this is the best cover art for any of the four Gloryhammer albums.  You got your mushroom cloud while a couple biker-knights (two words I never thought would logically be put together) are driving away on a possible homage to Judas Priest's Painkiller cover.  And you still have room for the castle in a fantasy background with a Dark Crystal orchid sky.

But the album itself is a different story entirely.  So we've got dorky-ass song titles like "Holy Flaming Hammer of Unholy Cosmic Frost," so they're not even hiding it.  After the Engrish lyrics of the debut, they became kind of a comedy band, and it shows in the lyrics.  But the album has stronger neoclassical influences which helps it stand out from the other three.  But these influences arrive in place of the heavy punches and judo throws of the first album.  Less punch, more glitter.  Sure, the songs are still fun, but I would say that this album is a little lacking in comparison to the first three albums.  The progressive/symphonic melodies don't feel so original anymore.  So Gloryhammer's eagerly awaited fourth album is nothing short of a rehash of past ideas with a slightly different neoclassical style.