It doesn't look very promising, does it? This album had completely passed me by until I saw it on e-bay half a year ago. Since I collect old all-girl, real Metal records I got curious, even if they looked like 2nd rate VIXEN clones on the album cover. The seller wrote the usual harangue about "killer power metal!" etc, but forgive me for being skeptical. Recently an affordable copy turned up at a Metal Market and this time I had a little more confidence in the seller's promises of it's heavy content (cheers Rainer!). And waddayano', this ain't half-bad stuff, really. Very standardized European Heavy Metal in the ACCEPT/POKOLGEP/PRIEST-vein, including a healthy number of faster, double-bass-drum-driven Power-pieces, like the upbeat and slightly mellow "Stiny v Ulicich", Speed Metallic "Svêdomi v Nás", the great epic "Prokleti Hrichu" etc. AND... believe it or not, only 1 (one) vomit-inducing, schmalzy, pompous schlager-ballad on the whole record! "What?!?" you say? "On an East European Metal record? It cannot be!", but yes, "Bohuzel" is practically the only real downer on the album. Despite the even, high quality of songwriting it's still the kind of album you'll enjoy more for it's lack of crap songs rather than it's unforgettable highlights, but I can guarantee* you a surprisingly positive Metal-experience, especially if other mid-league Czech Steel like KERN, VITACIT, KREYSON etc has let you down in the past. (Then again it's no match for CITRON's mighty "Radegast".) All in all, LORETTA is more of a 'nice surprise' than an undiscovered work of genius. Or perhaps it totally slays and I'm just getting old and jaded. Go figure.

* = Not a guarantee. The Corroseum does not give refunds on behalf of poor taste and/or judgment.