SQUEALER are a German musical collective that mix Traditional (aka Classic) and Power Metal. Formed in Schwalmstadt, the group released their debut in 1992 and have since unleashed 7 LPs of their music to us. So yeah, they've been around for quite some time, but question is, how well are they doing right now? Well, today I will try to answer that question with my review of their latest disk, "Behind Closed Doors".

"Madnessecity" is a really tasty 1.5 minute intro track with those strings in the background and the pianos halfway through; I would GLADLY listen to a 3-4 minute full version of it.

Next up is the title-track, which opens with some menacing guitar chords and progresses into the best song on the record - with solid drumming, really enjoyable guitar work and Ohmygoodness, that chorus. Its length is also perfect; close to the border of justifiable and unnecessary - plain perfection. The song's solo isn't anything special, but the overall song is easily among the best I've heard in the last few weeks; a strong 9/10.

However, it is followed by a notably weaker composition. Even though "Time Goes By" has a more interesting guitar solo, the significantly simpler song-writing makes it a bit disappointing. By itself, it's solid, but after the masterpiece that is "Behind Closed Doors", it left me with a bitter feeling. In the song "Dreamshot", vocalist Sebastian Werner gets most of the spotlight, and he easily deserves it, with some Mike Patton-esque randomness. It's a cool extra, and would have been a great addition to the album if it wasn't almost 5 minutes long. Nevertheless, the band's singer is the best thing about this LP, period.

Another track I feel that should be mentioned is the one "Behind Closed Doors" concludes with; and that's "MOTM". A great acoustic intro translates perfectly into a monstrous riff. It's very poppy yet charismatic and just plain cool, yet fits in well with its musical context.

Overall, I can say the album captured my attention the times I listened to it. It wasn't just background music for scrolling through my Facebook news feed, not even for the first time. I didn't have to particularly concentrate on it, it just felt natural to notice certain positive and negative aspects of it. The record also flows very well; the longer tracks are usually grouped together so it gives a long, monumental feeling but it also has it's fair share of 3-4 minute songs, all of which are placed in a way that's just...balanced.

Although I don't really have any specific problem with the music on here, I feel like besides the vocals, nothing is really stellar, and could have been done much better, but not everything has to be a masterpiece; that surely isn't and shouldn't be a requirement. Honestly, the only forgettable tracks here is "Modern World Maniacs" and "Worlds Collide"; and the latter would've been decent (it's pretty catchy) if it weren't for it's redundant length. So the album doesn't contain much filler either.

Other than that, the further I went into this disk, the more I liked it. The production is also nothing special. It's fitting, but not something that adds to the quality as a whole. In conclusion, I simply appreciate that they were going for many different sounds and styles throughout the record; that makes for a healthily diverse experience, with enough epic atmosphere that it feels organic and not cringy (like most PM) whilst packing enough technical skill and creative songwriting. Granted I don't listen to much Traditional or Power Metal, this mixture of the two genres is probably my favourite from a lesser known band. Would recommend it do basically anyone.