DORO – Warrior Soul (Locomotive Records)

Warrior Soul is by far the best record of Doro’s career. In the past some of the material sounded like it was ground out from the same song factory, just altered slightly. This time out, there are 12 very strong tracks that are worthy of your time. In addition her attempts at broadening the sound are more effective.

Starting cautiously with “You’re My Family” with a slow verse before slamming into a galloping gait. This is reportedly about the legions of long-time Doro fans that make up her large audience. It’s a good cut but there’s more to come. “Haunted Heart” goes double time with a foot-pounder that has a memorable chorus. My favorite cut on the record is “Strangers Yesterday”, which starts almost “Kashmir”-like, lumbering out of the gate. The slow guitars just ride under Doro, who doesn’t sound better than on this cut, before sliding into a great chorus. You’ll be throwing the horns on this one.

The title cut is also another of the best tracks here. It’s a moody track that once again leaves a lot of room to let Doro’s vocals shine. The following cut “Heaven I See” is cut from the same cloth. “Creep Into My Brain” is a undulating snake that just slithers into your ears.

It goes on and on. All of the songs are great and Doro seems to succeed by holding back a bit on most of the cuts. She still has moments of letting it rip which she can do quite well, but overall her voice really stands out. Of course, all of the songs are great which obviously helps.

The record was done in various place including Yellohouse Studio in Wupppertal (Germany), the Atom-H-Studios and working on the record was Chris Lietz and Torsten Sickert along with Deezl Imhof (Foolpark Studios).

Maybe this will be the record to break her in North America.

01. You're My Family
02. Haunted Heart
03. Strangers Yesterday
04. Thunderspell
05. Warrior Soul
06. Heaven I See
07. Creep Into My Brain
08. Above The Ashes
09. My Majesty
10. In Liebe Und Freundschaft
11. Ungebrochen
12. Shine On
13. Angel In The Dark [bonus]
14. 1999 [bonus]

Audio CD (May 23, 2006)
Original Release Date: March 28, 2006
Number of Discs: 1
Label: Locomotive Spain