'Legendary' may be stretching things if you move beyond the confines of serious metaldom, but credit where it's due, German-born rocker Mandy Lions has certainly paid his dues. Making his mark in the US rock scene in the late 1980s, he hooked up with legendary Black Sabbath manager Don Arden and formed WWIII with a - ahem - fluid line-up which included such genre luminaries as Vinnie Appice (Sabbath etc), Jimmy Bain (Dio etc) and Mikkey Dee (Motorhead etc).
With a lascivious, battered leather-clad Mad Max image that would prove formative on the likes of Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson, Lions nevertheless contrived to eventually miss the boat, leaving the baton to be picked up with great commercial success by others.
Still, history and influence are well and good, but is this comeback any good? This latest WWIII incarnation certainly doesn't sound out of place among the cream of today's scene, offering a contemporary sounding mix of old and new school metal values. It's kind of like you hoped the latest Rob Zombie record would be like (but wasn't) or even, good heavens, a bit like a heavier Lordi. Chugging, apocalyptic riffs unfold as lyrics are attacked with gusto, Lions growling in a manner more commonly associated these days with Marliyn Manson, with the occasional hint of a Rob Halford-like warble beneath the gurgles.
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Fighting for the Earth adds a little conscience to the horror show - not terribly convincingly, it has to be said - and why anyone felt the need to throw in a horrible rock ballad like Garden of Stone is a matter for other people's consciences.
A couple of industrial remixes merely serve to reinforce what Rob Zombie and Ministry went on to perfect, but as valid as this record remains, there's a distinct sense of the train having long departed the station. Nevertheless, a little backdated respect is certainly overdue.
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