DORO

Objectively speaking, discs like this are intended for a narrow segment of utterly devoted fans who are ready to lovingly and reverently embrace any new release from their idol. This disc is the first of two that Doro Pesch is dedicating to her friend, boxer Regina Halmich. In terms of Doro's own material, the EP features just one new track of her own composition -- the ballad "Everything's Lost." The track "Thunderspell" is an exact duplicate of the one found on her latest studio album, with format and sound unchanged by a single iota. There is an interesting new cover -- this time it is "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" by LED ZEPPELIN, and as always, the result is very original and engaging, though so far she has not managed to top her Judas Priest cover. "On My Own" is a track by the Swiss hard rockers KROKUS, and accordingly Doro performs it alongside Marc Storace. The disc opens with the singer's legendary hit "All We Are" -- this song first appeared on the fourth and final WARLOCK album, "Triumph and Agony," where it was also the opening track. Its simple lyrics and equally simple melody became a genuine heavy metal anthem on the level of "Balls to the Wall" by ACCEPT or "Breaking the Law" by JUDAS PRIEST. A new version had already appeared before, but that one featured a string orchestra as part of the "Classic Diamonds" album in 2004; now we hear an updated heavy version. The disc includes five videos: two live performances, one of which features the ubiquitous "All We Are" and the other "You're My Family" from the latest studio album. Two more clips accompany songs from the latest album -- "Above the Ashes" and "Warrior Soul" -- and finally, the last track on the disc is a video of "On My Own" performed together with Marc Storace. The last two videos use footage from the film "Anuk -- The Path of the Warrior," in which Doro herself appeared. Such is this disc; its one problem is the very narrow audience that will potentially purchase it, since only the most loyal fans would rush to the store for a new three-minute song and a couple of cover versions.