“Battle Beast is the mane attraction in the Zoo of Missed Potential. After releasing one of the most wildly entertaining power metal albums in years with 2011s Steel, the band shifted direction toward a more radio-friendly style and their stock began to tumble accordingly. On subsequent albums they slipped to what I call a playlist band, as I would like a few cuts per album, add them to a playlist and street the rest. They broke out of that pattern (barely) on 2017s Bringer of Pain, managing an album’s worth of respectable cuts mixing power metal with symphonic schmaltz and accessible hooks. It was hardly a killer, but it lacked filler and was an light, easy spin. Album number five No More Hollywood Endings looks to take the same approach and up the accessibility factor even further.” A star is torn.
