Around two years after their sophomore The Difference German Heavy Metal band ARREST start-up again to cement with Night Stalker what they have achieved with the predecessor. But if they will make it … I’m really not sure. Actually ARREST does not do any wrong and fulfill again all criteria that have enthused me on The Difference: energetic, powerful and catchy songs, ranging in the entire field of Heavy Metal. One will find crushers like the opener Same Old Story and Night Stalker, groovy midtempo riff monsters like Dancing On The Edge Of Chaos as well as the usual ballad Desperate Memories. Night Stalker offers shining guitar solos, sing-along refrains and unobtrusive keyboard line, and an exceptionally good singer, who this time sounds even more like Ozzy. The sound is dense and intensive and the production again kicks ass heavily. There is not really much to nag about, well, two songs are a bit lengthy (Silent Truth and Shadows Behind Me) and the first one has some annoying clarinet-like tones. So everything else is going smoothly?
No, not really in my opinion. At the end I miss the special kick. If I would have listened to ARREST the first time I guess I would have acclaimed Night Stalker the same way I did with The Difference. Do not get me wrong, Night Stalker is still a very good album, but to me it is nothing new anymore.