Stephen Long time singer, DC Cooper, finally went back to ROYAL HUNT after 13 years, a big hooray from the fans camp. He has a great vocal, I must admit, but sadly, I don't know why ROYAL HUNT's music didn't fascinate me much, perhaps because they're standing undecided in the middle of prog area and heavy metal, hence I can't really appreciate the big value of Cooper's contribution.

What offered here is basically an old time formula, for those who's familiar with Cooper's earlier era should find this easier to digest. Progressive metal with neoclassical element, but this time looks like they reduced the prog weight a bit and played with more straight forward heavy metal routine. 'One More Day' for example, this is symphonic and heavy metal combo while 'Another Man Down' started slow before building up the tempo, and both are pretty good track.

'An Empty Shell' is the weakest tune here but on the contrary, 'Half Past Loneliness' has the best chorus here and stands up as the greatest song. The sixth track, is the longest but the first half of the song didn't really grab my attention, but after the upbeat instrumental, I can see that this is not a bad track at all.

I found that this album probably will be enjoyed immensely by fans of Cooper and long time ROYAL HUNT fans, but to me, this is quite average and even the best track isn't really memorable by any stretch. You're okay with it, but in no time, it's traceless and you might completely forget about it. 65-70%

J-Man Royal Hunt has been consistently pumping out well-received melodic progressive metal albums for the past twenty years, and Show Me How to Live is certainly no exception to this trend. Although you could argue that the band's most creative and innovative period is behind them, these Danes still know how to dish out relevant and memorable music in today's melodic metal scene. Their blend of neo-classical instrumentation, melodic choruses, and hard-hitting riffs is inevitably lovable, and while Royal Hunt isn't nearly as original as they were in the mid-nineties', Show Me How to Live is still a fine effort that fans of melodic progressive metal ought to check out.

The main format for Royal Hunt's sound is melodic power metal with symphonic and neo-classical overtones, in addition to numerous ventures into progressive territory. This style may not be groundbreaking anymore in 2011, but Royal Hunt proves that they are still relevant by their compositional abilities and top-notch musicianship. This is a group of fantastic musicians across the board, and Show Me How to Live also sports plenty of killer songs. While the epic title track takes the cake by numerous country miles, everything you'll find on this album is well-composed and highly professional. Aside from the occasionally plastic keyboard tones (which, I guess could be a positive for some listeners), there's really not much to complain about on Show Me How to Live - it delivers plenty of goods, and while it rarely reaches a level of true excellency, this is a damn solid album from all fronts.

People who are hesitant to Royal Hunt's brand of symphonic melodic metal won't have their minds changed by Show Me How to Live, but fans of the band will be pleased to know that they have yet another solid platter of hard-hitting tunes up their sleeves this time. Although I would've liked a few more jaw-dropping moments like those found in the title track, it's still really tough to deny quality like this. 3.5 stars are well-deserved, and Royal Hunt fans would be making a mistake by passing this one up!

Conor Fynes 'Show Me How To Live' - Royal Hunt (7/10)

Royal Hunt takes an intriguing place as one of those legendary progressive metal bands that I have never heard about until recently. Having been around about as long as Dream \Theater, this band has been making their classically-influenced brand of progressive metal since the style was crawling on all fours. Over twenty years into their career now, the art of album-making is nothing new to these Danes, and 'Show Me How To Live' reflects that confidence and experience. With a firm grip on their melodic style, Royal Hunt creates an experience that is almost certain to impress lovers of both progressive and neoclassical metal.

As a newcomer to the music of Royal Hunt, the first band that this Danish act reminded me of were Kamelot. Although Royal Hunt predate Kamelot by years, their sound has developed into one that parallels the trend in neoclassical metal. Operatic 'power metal' vocals, symphonic keyboards, dramatic melodies and spitfire musicianship are all elements of Royal Hunt's music, and despite the fact that the style of music that this band plays is no longer 'my thing' so to speak, 'Show Me How To Live' has stood to me as a memorable album, solid in most respects. With the exception of the bold title track, the songwriting here is based in a hard rock tradition. While these songs are exciting enough to go off on instrumental escapades as per prog metal canon, they are centered around powerful choruses that reflect the band's skill with writing melodies, and depth of arrangement. The symphonic elements that Royal Hunt chooses to season their music with are never too elaborate, but adds a touch of extra class to what they do.

The largest qualm with Royal Hunt's sound is that while their neoclassical take on melodic metal may have been more adventurous back when the band was first starting out, Royal Hunt's established style is beginning to show signs of age. This album may be the band at their most professional-sounding, but by the second or third track of this record, little comes as a surprise. Regardless, 'Show Me How To Live' is a passionately performed and tastefully composed album by these underrated legends, and although Royal Hunt finds themselves amidst a sea of melodic metal soundalikes, they manage to stand out.