Review DORO ‘Conqueress – Forever Strong and Proud’

Somehow you feel a little overwhelmed when it comes to the new Doro album, because longplayer really deserves its name in this context. A total of 20 songs are on ‘Conqueress – Forever Strong and Proud’ and one can rightly say that even after 40 years Doro has not grown tired of her passion for heavy metal.

Well, actually everything has been said and written about Doro. It is self-evident that the native of Düsseldorf sticks to her typical musical framework and I think that no one expected or wished for great innovations. Doro has found her sound and sticks to her recipe for success.

With ‘Children oft he Dawn’ the record then also goes well forward. the throbbing mid-tempo song is a good start to the album and it is ‘Fire in the Sky’ which comes up with screaming guitar leads. In addition, Doro shifts up a couple of gears as ‘Fire in the Sky’ is a fast track that encourages headbanging.

After such a brilliant start, ‘Living After Midnight’ is a Judas Priest cover, which Doro performs with Rob ‘The Metal God’ Halford. It is not a bad version, but the track would have been fine as a bonus song.

And speaking of cover versions and collaborations, there are a few more on ‘Conqueress – Forever Strong and Proud’. There’s for example ‘Bond Unending’, where Sammy Amara from Broilers shares the vocals with Doro. I like Broilers and Doro impresses me since the Warlock days. However, the two voices don’t really fit together and even if the song can shine with its catchiness, it still seems a bit lost.

On the other hand, the throbbing ‘Rise’ and ‘I Will Prevail’ are real blasts. And, of course, some parts on the album are sung in German like the cliche-laden ballad ‘Fels in der Brandung’. I’ve never been a fan of such songs and luckily there is the ‘Skip’ button, which leads you to ‘Love Breaks Chains’. The latter is not a bad tune, but it’s not one of the album’s highlights either. The same goes for ‘All For You’.

At the end, and before the bomus material comes to show, there is another cover version. ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ by Bonnie Tylor is performed by Doro and Rob Halford. Not bad, but somehow also another strange piece on the record.

Long story short; with ‘Conqueress – Forever Strong and Proud’ you get 100% Doro and fans will love what they get. But it remains to be said that a focus on the best new songs would have been better and maybe all the cover versions and guest contributions could have been combined on one extra EP. Anyhow, if you like Doro’s sound, you will feel at ease with ‘Conqueress – Forever Strong and Proud’.