Virgin Steele - The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell Part 2

In the land of filmdom, it's pretty much accepted that sequels are rarely as good as the originals.  Well, power metal is a musical genre that just loves sequels, the first "series" being Helloween's KEEPER OF THE SEVEN KEYS in the eighties (for what it's worth, I thought the first was better than the second), and we now have Virgin Steele here and, on this occasion, they have topped the first Heaven And Hell album.
Despite all the Greek mythology mixed in (it seems) with touches of Christianity, and David Defeis' starting to overdo his snarling singing, this is excellent stuff, with deft touches throughout, and power to burn.  It's hard to single out many songs, but the ten-minute ballad "Emalaith" is worthy, and two of the best rockers are left until towards the end (rather like Heaven And Hell Part 1), "Unholy Water" and the knockout "Victory Is Mine", although it sounds like evil triumphs.  Then again, this is not the end of the story. After a three year break, Virgin Steele returned in 1998 to conclude their fantasy dramas between Heaven and Hell.

****1/2