You hear there’s a metal band called Mob Rules and, unless you are a way better man than me, you assume it’ll be Black Sabbath soundalike time.
Not this Mob Rules, though. They are the power metal bands power metal band, and “Celebration Day” is them celebrating (as it were) 30 years.
They are doing so in a typically OTT way, too. Well, over two and half hours of music, where they pick their favourites – opener “Way Of The World” being a case in point, as it is an eight-and-a-half minute album track – rather than just the ones you expect.
Those are here, of course, they are, and the absolute grandiosity of “Black Rain” is absolutely wonderful, as is MV’s personal favourite of their back catalogue, “The Dykemaster’s Tale” (a song so good that if it was a Maiden song it would still be one of the best songs on the album).
As they don’t do things by halves (as you might be able to tell?) there are all kinds of re-recordings here too. The parping brilliance of 2002’s “Lord Of Madness” is the best of these for sure.
There are a couple of things that have only been available digitally, like their superb cover of “Raven’s Flight” which sees them take on Amon Amarth with no issues at all, and some things you might have forgotten like “Tele Box Fool” from 2012, but are worth revisiting.
And there’s a collection of covers. “Run To The Hills”, you might have expected, “Fame” by Irene Cara may be less so (although there’s something about metal living forever here, surely?) and “Square Hammer” is better than when Ghost do it – but that’s not hard.
Indeed, “Celebration Day” proves that Mob Rules should maybe have had a gimmick then they might have been on the front of Metal Hammer and played arenas. Just saying.
Dislike of Ghost (I think I hid it well) aside, if you aren’t as familiar with a band that gets sadly overlooked in the UK as you should be, then this is a hell of a place to start.
Rating 9/10
