After a twenty-five-year career AXXIS prove they are still a force in Metal, their latest offering, "Monster Hero" is the fuel-injected blast of energy which the German-quintet  have become renowned for, proving the hunger is still alive within the band to release quality output as opposed to going through the standard motions of recording. All the boxes that make a solid album are ticked with a stylish delivery of power, opening with the dirty-riff of the title track "Monster Hero", tongue-in-cheek, anthem based and utterly fun, setting the pace nicely with what follows, Bernard Weib is in fine voice, every syllable and word are exceptionally pronounced and passionately conveyed.

"Living As Outlaws" continues the momentum with a hard driving, sonic solo and transcending chorus, following with "Rock Is My Religion", vibes of 80's-Metal hammering out just as the title implies, both are classic AXXIS in the 21st-century. One of best names for a song "Love Is Gonna Get You Killed", opens with an eruption of synthesizers, the mood is mellowed here but the intensity stays the same, the texture created by the keyboards give an added depth to the song at the same time not taking from the rest of the instruments.

Throughout the album Weber keeps the guitar grinding, the riffs on every track are bulky, with backbone to them, "Gonna Be Tough" is soaked with his signature sound, as with the stoking "Firebird" where the bad really let loose, the rhythm-section of Brand with Schomaker on bass works extremely well as the one well-oiled machine. "Give Me Good Times" opens with a clever play of techno-collages of synth courtesy of the excellent Harry Oellers before the rest of the band join in, this is an excellent track steeped with the good ol' sound that those of us grew up on and perhaps misses the song-along chorus in metal, appeal without the pop-sellout.  Following this with "All I Want Is Rock" keeps the mood high, an intelligent use of the song-cycle as here AXXIS dip into the past even name-dropping "Highway To Hell" in this salute to the heroes of the past.

Tagging on bonus-tracks of songs which already appear on the album might seem pointless however, these 'Raw Mixes' of "Rock Is My Religion" and "All I Want Is Rock" are guitar-heavy, bass-heavy rockers which give a taste of the pre-treated album, or even the natural sound of AXXIS, they do close off the album by reiterating the rousing feel and nature of the album. AXXIS remain a unique act with a very viable sound in today's market, not just for those who followed metal since the eighties but those whom are just discovering.