This album is difficult to bring up enough interest or mad excitement while listening to it for a couple of times. Things afterwards actually get a little bit better but do not expect anything stimulating to the bone, anyway...
France seems to have invested in HOLY CROSS, regarding the reviving classic Metal field. The quintet had released their Holy Cross demo back in 2006/2007 offering an appetizing piece of the melodies of MANOWAR mixed with the lyricism of IRON MAIDEN let's say. Two-three years later it's the Under The Flag official debut trying to sparkle things up; it kinda succeeds in raising an excellence in the guitars sector and some good moments of personal good work in the harmonies piece (omit a couple of vain growling parts). The rhythm section and the vocals, though, seem not capable of solidifying the music - or at least that's how the album sounds from beginning to end. The parts developed in half the songs are really interesting pieces; it's evident HOLY CROSS have spent lots of time in their songmaking. Apart from the obvious heavy/epic parts there's a lot of gloomy sections in the album, bringing to mind some of ICED EARTH or DEMONS AND WIZARDS or even MEGADETH, to be more specific.
Listening again to this album, and trying to write down what kind of bridges or refrains or parts HOLY CROSS uses and in what ways they do develop the spine of each song you'll be 'thumbs up!'. Still, there's something amateurish preventing this tracklist from being treated with much enthusiasm. In a better sound (including the absence of this plastic double bass drumming) this album surely deserves more; if you're generous at your purchases in the classic/epic Metal field you won't be dissatisfied anyway but surely there's more to be done from the band in order for the brilliant leads/riffs to be matched with something of parallel level.