Mob Rules – Rise Of The Ruler

Mob Rules
Rise Of The Ruler
Label: ROAR (Rock of Angels Records)
Out: August 22^nd, 2025
Playing time: 46:43

Seven years have passed since the last release by Mob Rules from Wilhelmshaven (Lower Saxony, Germany) with the title ‘Beast Reborn’. The album reached number 37 in the German album charts and number 59 in the Swiss album charts. A great success for the northern Germans. The band, which was founded in 1994, named itself after the world hit by Black Sabbath. Ten studio albums have been released so far. There are also various singles and EPs, as well as two best-of compilations and one live album. Speaking of live: I was able to see Mob Rules support Axel Rudi Pell in 2016. Let’s find out whether ‘Rise Of The Ruler’ has what it takes to build on the success of its predecessor.

‘The Fall Of Dendayar’ is a spoken intro. Dendayar is probably an elf from a computer game (‘Drakensang: On the River of Time’). Even though I’m not a fan of such intros, you have to accept it in the context of a concept. However, the actual opener “Exiled” makes up for the, in my opinion, unnecessary one and a half minutes. Mob Rules show a lot of energy and great enthusiasm here. While the dominant guitars are driven by hard drum rhythms, singer Klaus Dirks shows his best side – high but always clean-sounding, powerful vocals. In ‘Future Loom’, the Northern Lights also go at a high tempo, but still remain extremely melodic. And as in the previous song, the guitarists show off their skills in a solo. After so much power, ‘Dawn Of Second Sun’ starts off calm and relaxed. Strings play gently under the strong vocals. Without significantly increasing the tempo, the rhythm section kicks in powerfully. A strong Power Metal anthem. ‘Back To Savage Land’ also begins calmly but only briefly. Then the song is dominated by riffs. The catchy polyphonic chorus invites the fans to sing along. Once again, a filigree guitar solo is the highlight. After a melodic guitar introduction, the guitars really roast in ‘Trial And Trail Of Fear’. The whole thing is broken up by short, quiet piano passages, ‘Providence’ starts ballad-like before it later becomes bombastic, especially during the vocals. The brief a cappella vocals at the end make your skin crawl. In ‘Nomadic Oasis’, the musicians perform a balancing act between acoustic-balladic passages, powerful guitar work, pounding rhythms and great guitar solos. And then the steam hammer strikes again on ‘Coast Of Midgard’. Hard riffs at high speed dominate for long stretches. Of course without missing out on sing-along choruses and guitar solos. ‘On The Trail’ inevitably reminds me of ‘The Bard’s Song’ by Blind Guardian. Acoustic twin guitars and soulful vocals. Klaus Dirks is supported here by female vocals. A magnificent vocal duet. Heartbreakingly beautiful! Unfortunately, the press release is silent about whose voice we can enjoy here. The closing track ‘Equilibrium (Rise Of The Ruler)’ is another thunderstorm of sound with epic choruses, galloping guitars and lots of double bass.

I’m excluding the intro from my rating. But if you’re not put off by the storyteller, you’re in for a magical moment of Teutonic-style Power Metal. A rich sound, varied songwriting and outstanding musicians. An album could hardly be better. This should therefore be a guarantee for even better chart positions.

Mob Rules – Trial And Trail of Fear: https://youtu.be/iFqWqqA6lSw?si=GK5B6mp1MZOiHQxX

Lineup:

Klaus Dirks – Vocals
Sven Lüdke – Guitar
Florian Dyszbalis – Guitar
Markus Brinkmann – Bass
Jan Christian Halfbrodt – Keys
Sebastian Schmidt – Drums

Track list:

• The Fall Of Dendayar
• Exiled
• Future Loom
• Dawn Of Second Sun
• Back To Savage Land
• Trial And Trail Of Fear
• Providence
• Nomadic Oasis
• Coast Of Midgard
• On The Trail
• Equilibrium (Rise Of The Ruler)