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When I got the debut album of Duke I knew what to expect, coz I saw the band live a few times and they presented themselves very good. Some might remember singer Leo from his days with Scanner. Others will think that the name Assmuth sounds familiar, actually Anja's brother is the drummer of Angel Dust. So it seems obvious that they play melodic power metal and that's what Duke present on Escape From Reality.
They open up with The Duke which starts instrumental with an epic mid-tempo part before they sped up. The song develops into a fast guitar-driven melodic tune with a catchy hookline. The song Rolling Heads is not as fast as the album opener and has due to the tempi changes a progressive touch. The short guitar solo of Tobias is supporting the song and in general it can be said that Tobias is doing a good job on Escape From Reality. That Duke have an aggressive side they show with Arrant Rascal, but this one also has some epic touch and mid-tempo parts. But mainly this song is based on guitar riffing. Only partly the high notes Leo hit are a bit annoying... Perhaps it's just me... A slow catchy one is Rising Child, but it's a groovy rocker. Last, but not least Remember My Name is a slow, heavy rocker with a balladesque touch.
The songs Wild Horse and Friends they played live and so they are already known by some metal fans. As this songs worked live, I can recommend to check these out, but you can also listen to Rolling Heads to get an idea about the album.
A decent album which is interesting for fans of melodic power metal, but also fans of neo-classical or traditional metal will like this one, even if it has some fast, up-tempo tracks. And as if they want to show that Anja can really hit the drums they put as a bonus track a video clip on the CD which shows Anja doing a drum solo.
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