Power metal has never distinguished itself as the most adventurous of metallic subgenres; in fact, if anything, it represents the exact opposite by obeying most of the core devices most often acknowledged as "classic" or inherent to the form.

To that end, most would agree that Germany's Freedom Call have, over the course of their first few albums, been an asset to this philosophy by embodying power metal at its most steadfast and true.

Or, as their detractors would call it: generic.

Whatever one's opinion, the merits of the group's fourth full-length, 2005's The Circle of Life, will prove just as polarizing -- what with its frequent examples of anthemic, fist-in-the-air, hearty male chorus-powered material ("Starlight," "Hero Nation," "The Eternal Flame," naturally the title track) continually doing their name justice.

Elsewhere, however, Freedom Call's short-term memories may have brought them a tad too close to their influences for comfort, on this occasion.

For example, the staccato riff driving "Kings and Queens" seems ready to evolve into Ozzy Osbourne's "Centre of Eternity" at any moment; the techno-inflected "Rhythm of Life" bears disturbing similarities to the Scorpions' dated 1988 single "The Rhythm of Love"; and, most glaring of them all, "Carry On" is a virtual, although seemingly inadvertent, rewrite of Manowar's song by the same name of almost 20 years earlier! Common sense of course suggests that these derivations are really too blatant to constitute actual plagiarism, but they nevertheless characterize the same as hardly the stuff of great originality (never mind the group's unimaginative use of nearly identical song titles not once but twice within a single album).

Having said that, the somewhat more distinctive, though hardly rule-setting "Hunting High and Low" is not, thank heavens, a cover of a-ha; and additional tracks like "Mother Earth" (tentatively progressive), "High Enough" (gravity-lending minor chords), and "Starchild" (Helloween-based thrashing intensity) generally manage to spice their rather mundane charms with some much needed variety.

All things considered, however, The Circle of Life is most definitely recommended for power metal purists, who are the most likely to forgive its constant repetitions as the worthwhile recycling of a perfectly good formula.