In the 80's, perhaps the two most important genres were Traditional Heavy Metal and Hard Rock. And even to this day, there are bands that still make this type of music, to remind nostalgic fans of bygone days and even to gain younger fans - like me forinstance; I wasn't even born in 80's. POWER THEORY is releasing their third album called "Driven by Fear" with strong influences of ACCEPT and MANOWAR. The ACCEPT bassist - Peter Baltes - even did the production work on "Driven by Fear". And the production is excellent and - of course!

First up is "Spinstress", a song with a great tempo and strong guitars that makes you headbang during the whole song. The vocals aren't high like Udo Dirkschneider - ex-ACCEPT frontman - and reminds me a lot of Blaze Bayley singing style. The second - "Long Hard Road" - has a Hard Rock influence, with the likes of MÖTLEY CRÜE and TWISTER SISTER being good examples. The drums have a progressive sway - double bass-driven - coupled with occasional variations in tempo and a catchy chorus that gets stuck in your head the whole day. And the next song has powerful instrumental and aggressive vocals, and is the self-titled song "Driven by Fear". This is followed by "The Truth Shall Set You Free" which has the same power in the guitars and drums, with influences of JUDAS PRIEST songs in the low vocals by Jeff Rose. With one of the best solos in this album, Bob "BB" Ballinger and Nygil Hoch are doing an impeccable work in guitars. If you like this style, you will like POWER THEORY. In "Dark Eagle", the IRON MAIDEN influences are very clear, especially in the bass lines and the music tempo.

The other songs like "Don't Think Twice", "Cut & Run", and "Beyond Tomorrow (After the Fall)" are the highlights on "Driven by Fear" and prove the Heavy Metal influences are strong in their song. It's always good to listen band that plays 80's songs with a modern twist.

"Driven by Fear" is full of good influences of Traditional Heavy Metal and POWER THEORY explore this fully in their third release. The production is impressive, the band plays well, and you can't get tired to listening the songs. I recommend buying their discography and contributing to this band.