SCANNER is a German power/heavy metal band formed back in the 80's.  This release is a two cd album; disc one is a compilation of songs from their career and disc two features songs re-recorded with their current line-up.  The focus of the review will be on the disc two, considering it would be a good jumping point for new fans and something sort of new for old ones. The opening track "Warp 7," is fast and furious.  It opens with some catchy lead guitar melodies, from the only original member Axel Julius.  Along with Andreas Zeidler, he plays some basic but solid metal riffs that have the energy and punch of power metal but have the tone and structure of old school metal.

The next track, "Puppet on A String," brings wonderfully melodic riffs and Hanno Kerstan's drums, especially his fills, have a sense of urgency. Vocalist Efthimios Ioannidis has one hell of a name but he is one hell of a singer. His vocals are pretty expressive, even when he gets into a higher register.  He is at his best when his lower pitched vocals lead the gang shouts that pop up in abundance.  The melodic part around the four minute mark is very nice especially as it builds back up into a decent solo. The third track, "Across the Universe," is a standout because the whole band is in top form, especially bassist Willam Chapman who thumps and gallops along, a la IRON MAIDEN.  The chorus is catchy and the guitar melodies are well placed.

But here in lies the problem.  The band, every member, has all the talent in the world and when they all come together it works wonders.  However, there seems to be some problems with some of the song writing about halfway thru the album.  It's hard to really judge this since it isn't really a new studio album but we have some weak spots. I really wanted to like "Buy or Die," but the opening riff sounds like every other 80's riff out there.  The rest of the song is fine and quite good until about the 4:11 mark where it turns into some more bland 80's rock, like a really crappy version of ACCEPT.

"Tollshocked" has awkward pacing because it doesn't really have a chorus and there is a slowdown in the mid-section that is somewhat uninspired. The album picks up again towards the end with "Sister Mary," which contains emotional solos in the beginning.  The song continues to provide moments of melody, slower parts, some fast riffs, and even clean guitar;  it has a little bit of everything and it works well. The last track, "Till The Ferryman Dies," has clean and heavy guitar playing together to great effect.  The ending riffs are slick and the mid-section has thick, almost groovy riffs slide in. All in all, this album is pretty solid with some minor road bumps.  I wouldn't put them alongside German power metal greats like BLIND GUARDIAN or HELLOWEEN but they aren't half bad and provide a solid listening experience.