Ashes of Ares - Emperors and Fools (2022)

After four years of waiting, the third work by Ashes of Ares, entitled Emperors and Fools, has arrived.
The band formed by former Iced Earth members Matt Barlow on vocals and Freddie Vidales on bass continues presenting the traditional Heavy Metal with intense flirtations to Groove, Power and progressive Metal, we have Matt Barlow still in great prominence, showing that he continues to be one of the great voices of Metal, but for some reason Emperors and Fools couldn't excite me. The album is far from being bad, it just continues to be more of the same of everything the band presented so far, sounding sometimes a little nauseating.
We have great moments like The Iron Throne, I Am the Night which are true stoners with intense riffs and really powerful vocals, as the visceral and masterful ballad Gone, and of course Monster's Lament which closes the album with the special participation of Ripper Owens, another amazing vocalist.
I confess that I expected more from Emperors and Fools, but even so during the twelve songs presented it is possible to have a satisfying experience in many moments, especially being able to hear Matt Barlow's brutal vocals, one of the highlights of the album.
@ashesofaresofficial