Progressive and Melodic Metal. Two different styles of music that both have their own unique sound. One utilizes a lot of melodic elements in its sound hence the name and the other one I'm guessing utilizes a mixture of different Heavy Metal styles (forgive the lameness of my explanations). So, what do you get if you combine both of these into a genre called Progressive Melodic Metal? The answer comes in the form of a band called ROYAL HUNT.

Formed in 1989 in Copenhagen, ROYAL HUNT have released numerous recordings over the years in the form of studio albums, EP's, live albums, compilations and singles to name a few. The line up has also changed quite a bit over the years with numerous members coming and going as the years have progressed.

The current line up features one member who has been with the band since the start of their career, one who returned due to popular demand and requests from fans and promoters as well as three new members who have joined in the past several years.

The band's new album, "Devil's Dozen", due for release on the Frontiers Records label on August 21^st 2015 is the thirteenth ROYAL HUNT studio album which was launched through the funding site PledgeMusic.com which is often used a lot these days to fund and kick-start projects.

It also allows fans to contribute to the projects and depending on the amount they contribute, they are entitled to various rewards as a thank you for their patronage. It's clear the campaign was a success otherwise this album probably wouldn't have seen the light of day but it did and I am here to give my thoughts on it.

Clocking it around 51 minutes playtime across 8 brand new songs, "Devil's Dozen" utilizes a lot of symphonic and melodic elements and even classical instruments which when combined with everything else, such as the insane shredding from guitarist Jonas Larsen, the pounding beats from the rhythm sections Andreas Passmark and Andreas Johansson, the haunting keyboard melodies from Andre Andersen and the powerful vocals from vocalist D.C. Cooper, great music is created.

Each song is crafted to make the most of the elements that were used and as such, they all have their own distinctive and unique sound which results in some very enjoyable songs such as the powerful opening number "So Right So Wrong", the bluesy "Heart On A Platter", the albums ballad "Until the Day", the hard kicking symphonic "May You Never (Walk Alone) and the short but sweet closing track "How Do You Know".

As production goes, the sound is mixed together very well and as such, every piece of the music sounds crisp and clear meaning that there aren't really any faults in the songs. If I did have one gripe, it would be that at times it can be hard to make out the lyrics, as often the heavy melodies bury the vocals in places, but fortunately there is plenty of punch, power and oomph in the delivery of the vocals to make up for this so it's not such a big deal.

Bottom line, the new album from ROYAL HUNT is yet another perfect example of the great material that a cool label, like Frontiers Records, can deliver us. Part of that reason is down to the great material the bands they sign to their label write and create and I have yet to hear a bad release from this label, which I hope never happens. If you are a fan of ROYAL HUNT and are expecting this to live up to your expectations, then I highly recommend you pick this up on the day of its release, as there is plenty to enjoy with this album. I also recommend it if you like Progressive Melodic Metal music as well.<