Band:	Scanner
Album:	The Judgement
Style:	Power metal
Release date:	January 2015

01. Intro
02. F.T.B.
03. Nevermore
04. Warlord
05. Eutopia
06. The Judgement
07. Battle Of Poseidon
08. Pirates
09. Known Better
10. The Race
11. The Legionary

It's not every day that an ancient German speed metal band returns from the dead. Guitarist Axel "A.J." Julius has brought Scanner back into the studio after a lengthy period of inactivity for The Judgement, their first album in 13 years - the first since 2002's relatively unusual Scantropolis. 13 years is a long time - since then, I've learned how to drive, tie my shoes, and... well, that's about it. But what have Scanner learned?

Evidently, that it often pays to stick to the most reliable and comfortable sound where possible. Scantropolis, while a good album, differed greatly from their previous efforts, featuring a heavier keyboard presence and some milder melodic passages. The Judgement returns to the more aggressive sound of Scanner's past, remaining up-tempo throughout most of the running time and cranking the guitars all the way up. Efthimios Ioannidis, making his studio debut with Scanner (after 12 years in the band), has the voice of any number of late-'80s speed/power vocalists, and clearly possesses quite the impressive range.

The production is a little uneven; some songs, like "Warlord," inexplicably sound harsher and rawer than others, but this serves more as a brief point of interest than a real detraction from the album's quality. The Judgement is an awfully consistent album, and while I really couldn't weed out one or two standout tracks, I wouldn't go so far as to say that it needs them. Most songs have their own pleasant hooks and strong performances, even if the composition does fall a bit on the generic side. What you'll find here is solidity and consistency, ten tracks of above-average melodic thrash metal, if not the creativity and passion of earlier albums.

The Judgement does not yield its treasures as readily as classic Scanner fare like Hypertrace or Mental Reservation, but does build up to be very solid after repeated listens. It's not the greatest comeback in the world, but they were out of the picture studio-wise for a long time, so this at least testifies that Scanner are still alive and kicking.