Last week, you got to read my love letter to Doro circa ’87, in praise of Warlock’s masterpiece swansong, Triumph and Agony. This week, you get to read my love letter to Doro circa 2023 A.D., in which the rightfully branded Queen of Metal reigns supreme with her fourteenth studio album, Conqueress – Forever Strong and Proud. It’s been 5 long years since the last Doro album, Forever Warriors, Forever United. While that was quite the ambitious 2 disc collection, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t itching for some new metal from Ms. Pesch and company.
Similar to FW, FU before it, yet perhaps even more effective, Conqueress feels less like an album and more like a musical retrospective, each song touching on a certain era of the Teutonic metal legend’s career. It also feels largely like a hybrid of two albums in one, the front half boasting rough and tumble euro steel in the vein of Warlock, while the second half takes a more hard rocking accessible approach, characteristic of Doro’s early days. With 15 songs to make it through (3 of them being duets), one would expect this to be an exhausting listen, and yet, it isn’t.
Conqueress’ first half is largely a throwback to Warlock’s earliest days, albeit with a crisp, modern production. Thankfully, it’s not modern to the point of overload, but I digress. “Children of the Dawn” opens this affair strong in euro metal battle hymn fashion. It’s a formula we’ve heard time and time again, but Doro keeps it exciting with her empowering lyrics and powerhouse vocals. From there, we’re treated to ragers like “Fire in the Sky”, “All for You”, and “I Will Prevail”. Chock full of aggression and energy, these songs are bound to get heads banging and fists pumping in unison.
About halfway through Conqueress, things pivot towards the melodic side of the spectrum. This begins with the symphonic “Fels in der Brandung” (the obligatory pseudo-German song of the album) and progresses with the dark, brooding “Love Breaks Chains”. From there, we’re treated to the anthemic “Drive Me Wild”, lush “Best in Me”, and metallized AOR of “Heavenly Creatures”, which very may well be my choice cut in all its neon-lit glory. Rounding out this second half is a larger than life cover of the pomp rock epic, “Total Eclipse of the Heart”. Who better to fill the shoes of former Meat Loaf singer Rory Dodd than the Metal God himself, Rob Halford? Over the top as it is, I can’t help but appreciate it.
If you’ve loved Doro’s output of the past 40 years thus far, there’s no doubt you’ll love Conqueress. True to its title, this is a strong and proud collection of melodic metal that checks off nearly every box within the traditional metal realm. From the aggressive to the bombastic and powerful to the passionate, Doro does it all and then some, crushing the foes of metal with her whirlwind of a voice and unrelenting attitude. May she reign “Für immer”.
8 out of 10
Label: Nuclear Blast
Genre: Heavy Metal
For fans of: Warlock, Judas Priest, Saxon