Stephen October 5th 2010, a sad day as the world mourned Steve Lee's tragic death in a motorcycle accident, right about a year after the release of "Need To Believe", which is obviously his last album after spending a lucrative 18 years with the band. Gotthard decided to move on and search for his successor, but I don't think it'll be an easy task to replace such a distinctive voice. "Need To Believe" itself, continues what's left in their prior record, "Domino Effect", still wrapping their melodic roots with some contemporary touch while centering all attention to their signature ballsy bombastic chorus.

"Shangri-La" may sound too modern at verse, but that soaring chorus can't go wrong. "Unspoken Words" and "Need To Believe" are purely melodic hard rock at best. "I Don't Mind" bring their classic sound to the front, nice riffs they have there. "Don't Let Me Down" is a passionate ballad and a proof that Gotthard is always got a thing when it comes to making slow songs. "Right From Wrong" circled with a dark atmosphere, very freshly sounding riffs, and that infectious chorus is simply flawless. "Rebel Soul" is similar to "Shangri-La" but better, the bonus track, "Ain't Enough", is a must have, an effective trick of luring the fans into buying the special edition version, but 100% worth the price.

"Unconditional Faith" is the only filler I can think of and "Tears To Cry" is an average ballad that you can skip, but the rest are just awesome quality show of Switzerland's legend. If you ask why I didn't give this a perfect 10, that's only because I prefer their old-school riffage style and those couple fillers should have been left out, but this is more than solid, an obligatory purchase for fans, and a brilliant buy for melodic rock / heavy metal folks.