Nuclear Blast Allstars

For 20 years, Nuclear Blast has been releasing albums that run the gamut of all genres of metal. From its early grindcore and black metal days, the label now stamps everything from Hammerfall to Nile and most in between. To help celebrate their anniversary, the label has entrusted Rage mastermind Victor Smolski to pen a selection of tracks featuring some of the more power metal-oriented bands on the label. The result is Into the Light, a collection of ten tracks, each featuring a different vocalist from the past and present Nuclear Blast families. Because Smolski is the chief composer of the songs, there is a moderate amount of cohesion between tracks, even though the vocalists change. The standout selections are "Slaves to the Desert,” which features a nice performance by Hansi Kursch. The upbeat and catchy "Inner Sanctuary” with Nighwish’s Marco Hietala is also better than average. The best track features Marcel Schirmer of Destruction, who for some reason was lumped together with all these power metal vocalists. Into the Light is a decent selection of power metal-styled songs but wait around for the soon to be released Out of the Dark, which will showcase the heavier side of the Nuclear Blast line-up.