TRANCEMISSION are considered high up in the pantheon of German Heavy Metal, with a back catalog which stretches consistently back to the 80s. "Paranoia" is their latest release, in their 34th year of rocking stages around Europe.

Opening with the operatic strains of "Der Hölle Rach Kocht in Meinem Herzen" and "Queen of the Night", the album suggests a leaning towards the Gothic styles of modern symphonic groups, however when track 3, "Killer" comes it, it feels like a massive crash back down to earth as she "walks in her high heels, stalking into your wet dreams", and shows the more Cock-Rock and Classic Metal styles which are more in keeping with "TRANCEMISSION"'s overall sound. Using this operatic opening creates a lot of aural confusion and immediately makes the album feel confused- it wasn't until a few tracks further along that it became clear which of the two styles was the actual one the band was going for.

As a group who have been going on for 30 years, there are lots of similarities with the 80s metal groups that are still going, melodic harmonized lead guitar lines with anthemic choruses and pounding clap-along drum beats.

The acoustic intro of "Lone Wolf" offers a nice respite, with a fairly funky groove to it before the electricity gets turned on once more. The group makes use of galloping rhythms and songs like "Legal Highs" has a very UFO sound to it, with the harmonized guitar melody over the top. While there is nothing necessarily wrong, or bad about "Paranoia", there just seems to be a lack of spark which makes the whole album fall flat- more exploration of the slightly camp-operatic style of the intro track and "Queen of the Night" could have been used to create some more expansive sounds.<