_{German band Mob Rules released their 8th studio album, entitled “Tales From Beyond” through Steamhammer / SPV on 18th March. The band had celebrated their 20th anniversary with the release of a ‘best of’ album called “Timekeeper” in 2014; however I’d only really started to follow the band when they’d released their previous studio album “Cannibal Nation” back in 2012. I’d been looking forward to hearing the latest offering from Mob Rules and wasn’t to be disappointed! Their music is described in their PR release as a “deeply melodic mix of progressive and power metal” – however you want to categorise it, I think it is well worth checking out! The track “On The Edge” was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 25th March.}

_{I’ve always been a fan of tracks that tell a story and particularly those that some kind of historical context and Mob Rules certainly deliver on that front with “Tales From Beyond”. The opening track “Dykemaster’s Tale” (which has a very Iron Maiden vibe) is based on the story “The Rider on the White Horse”, whilst the second track “Somerled” is about a 12th century Scottish character. The title track of the album comes in three parts and was inspired by the book “The Martian” (now a movie starring Matt Damon). Other tracks that I would highlight would be “Signs” and “My Kingdom Come”.}

_{Mob Rules are Klaus Dinks on vocals, Matthias Mineur and Sven Ludke on guitars, Markus Brinkmann on bass, Nikolas Fritz on drums and Jan Christian Halfbrodt on keyboards. Check out http://www.mobrules.de/ for more info.}

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_{About “NI Rocks Recommends”}

_{The simple idea behind “NI Rocks Recommends” is to acknowledge and promote some of the great music being submitted to Rock Radio NI. I'll not be giving marks or ratings or analyzing the tracks in great detail; just telling you something about the artist and the album. It’s a personal recommendation to go check something out, not a traditional “review”!}

_{My musical tastes cover most things rock; from the not too melodic to the not too heavy. The albums that I’ll be recommending are merely those that I would buy myself and which you’ll be hearing played on my shows on Rock Radio NI.}

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