Band:	Persuader
Album:	The Hunter
Style:	Power metal
Release date:	2000

01. Fire At Will
02. As You Wish
03. Cursed
04. The Hunter
05. Secrets
06. Escape
07. ...And There Was Light
08. Heart And Steel
09. My Life For You
10. Escape [demo]
11. Cursed [demo]

I have in my hand the re-edition of "The Hunter", first album of the Swedish band Persuader. It was impossible to find it anymore, then their new label Dockyard 1 decided to do a re-edition and it's probably not a bad idea. Even if this album suffers of some problem, it's not bad at all at the end and some people, the one who like the strong and powerful German Power Metal should check this one.

The recipe of Persuader is simple: Take a good singer who haves some intonations a la Hansi Kürsch, add some powerfully guitars and tempo, write some super melodic and catchy riffs and choruses and you can understand how sounds this release. I will be honest I like this album, a lot of songs like "As You Wish" or "...And There Was Light" are potential hits and also, and this is a really good point for me, the riffs aren't monotonous and it even sounds a bit thrashy.

Though, if all that is really cool on a side, it's not so hard to see that the band really lacks of originality on this album (their first one actually). Yes, it sounds like Blind Guardian or Gamma Ray and it's a bit sad because without any doubt those guys are great musicians and are able to do something better, I have no doubt on this point. But now, I understand why Jens Carlsson and Emil Norberg also play in Savage Circus and I really hope that Persuader will find how to produce their own personal sound one day. If they can produce something a bit more original, then no doubt that this band will become a killer.

As you can understand, we're in front of a great album that only lacks of originality. Then that's up to you, if you don't mind to listen to something really similar to some others combos, no problem and really you must have this album. On the other hand if you're only seeking for originality, you can give a chance to this release but I doubt that you will be really surprised.