CONQUEST is a veteran Power / Thrash Metal band form USA, being established in the year 1988. Since their debut record in 1993 called "Wicked Days", they have released eight other full length albums including this latest effort of theirs, "The World Has Gone to Hell".

The title track (which is also the first song off the album) wastes no time introducing what the band is all about. It has crunchy and groovy riffs with a slight touch of Industrial Rock like ROB ZOMBIE, has simple lyrics and unconventional song structure. They also have a much heavier side, which was featured in the tracks "Black Skies", "Red", and "Hell to Pay". "Black Skies" is a good combo of Grunge, New Metal and Hard Rock. The riffs kept the atmosphere heavy and the vocals provided its character. "Red" is more of that heavy-melodic style, and "Hell to Pay" is a classic Heavy Metal with a very thick bass and sick grooves.

The album has a fair share of dynamics, as it goes like a roller coaster ride of moods and changes in pace. Just listen to "American Blood" and you'll get exactly what it means. It's a very progressive song with lots of twists and turns here and there. Despite its short playtime, it is a very effective adrenaline pump. There is also this one anthemic track called "Demons and Angels". The sound of this song is made for large stadiums for its dense bass on guitars and bass on the drums. It also has a great sing-along moment which obviously can translate to a very good live performance. The shortest song in the album, "Mississippi Queen" has some of the best licks in the album. The song runs full of energy from bottom to top, even though it can be considered a mid-pacer.

And of course, the blend will not be complete without an all-out AOR in the track "Heart of Gold". Even if the song is completely different from the rest of the tracks, it never sounded out of place. In fact, it served like a very refreshing pit stop after an avalanche of high-octane songs before leveraging back to hard bangers. The album is closed by the most unconventional song "The Creator", which is exactly the perfect thing to do. I call it unconventional because it combined all the techniques they employed in the other songs, plus the "uncomfortable" song structure which made it a really interesting song. Adding to the chaos are two bonus tracks that are equally filled with energy but is made with sheer rawness and actually sounds like a garage recording.

Overall, "The World Has Gone to Hell" is a very good album with lots of interesting songs. Its unpredictability is what really won my attention - not to mention those excellent guitar chops. And even if it has 11 tracks (13 including the bonus tracks), it will never bore you with its energy. And because it is a really unpredictable album, every note that drops will only leave you wondering what could happen next. Excellent album.