 DORO
Warrior Soul
Locomotive Records 2006
www.doropesch.com
What’s the 4-1-1?
The German metal queen returns to the metal scene with her first
full-length studio album since Fight in 2000. The album was reportedly
inspired by Doro’s first movie role in the film Anuk – The
Warrior’s Way.
Genre
Hard Rock / heavy metal
The Good
If you have listened to Doro before, you can pretty much bet you’ll get
a CD full of some hard driving rock songs, a few mid tempo rockers, and a couple
of timely power ballads. This may sound like I’m saying there’s
a formula to the album, but you’d be wrong. The challenge is coming up
with great songs whatever the style of the track.
I’m happy to report that Doro has really outdone herself this time. The
album opens with a solid midtempo rocker “You’re My Family” and
continues for the next 4 songs keeping up the driving rock sound.
While the ballads “Heaven
I See” and “Shine On” are pretty good. Maybe not as immediately
classic as some of Doro’s other ballads from past albums, but they stand
on their own just fine.
One of the things I always enjoy is the songs Doro sings in German. This time
around she does it 1-½ times. “In Liebe Und Freundschaft” is
done completely in German and “Ungebrochen” is a 97 second song done
half in English. Both songs are excellent. The German language songs are usually
so good, I don’t even bother finding out what the translation is because
they sound so wonderful as initially constructed.
The standout song on Warrior Soul are the metal anthems “My Majesty” and “Thunderspell.” I
also enjoyed “Haunted Heart” and “Strangers Yesterday.”Another
fact deserving attention is that Doro’s vocals sound especially
fantastic here. While the music is not shortchanged at all, this CD is definitely
geared towards letting Doro’s voice shine through loud and proud.
The Bad
There’s nothing wrong with any of the songs on the album. I would’ve
preferred being able to hear the two bonus tracks on the limited edition version
of the album for a fuller review.
The Verdict
I’m quite a big fan of Doro. I like to refer to her in conversation
as my “Metal Queen.” Sadly, I’ve been kind of disappointed
in her two most recent studio albums, Calling The Wild and Fight. While
each album had some very good music, the good stuff was interspersed with
some very weak material. The songwriting was simply not there.
You don’t have to worry about that with Warrior Soul. This album has the
best mix of songwriting since Doro’s monstrously great CD Love Me In
Black,
and instantly goes into the mix for the title of Best Doro CD. I’m proud,
and a bit surprised nonetheless, to declare this CD as the one that Doro fans
have been waiting for, whether they knew it or not.
Did You Know?
Doro’s drummer Johnny Dee formerly played with glam rockers Britny Fox.
The limited edition version of Warrior Soul contains two bonus tracks.
The songs are “Angels In The Dark” and “1999.” The US
fan club site for Doro Pesch is www.dororocks.com
Rating:  out
of 5
-- Jay Roberts
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