Metal Underground.com

Formed in 2001, Pennsylvania band Order of Nine is a traditional American power/traditional metal band, and 2008’s “A Means To Know End,” the band’s third release, is exactly that.

The rhythm guitar riffs throughout function mainly as an anchor to the vocal melodies and solos and are fairly generic. However, though rather simplistic, some of these riffs are quite catchy and drive the songs well, perhaps most comparable to a less complex, modern day Metal Church. The clean guitar parts are decent, but are a little too similar to Iced Earth, as are several of the harmonies.

The best attributes of this album are the solos and vocal performance. Vocalist Michael DeGrena has a similar style to that of Ronnie Munroe (Metal Church) and Tim Aymar (Pharaoh, Control Denied), and puts in a solid performance throughout the record. The lyrics are decent and aren’t too cheesy, but they aren’t the best either. The solos are well written and executed and are the highlight of the record. The intro soloing of "An Offered Hand" has a Yngwie Malmsteen flavor to it and displays guitarists Scott Haggerty and Steve Pollick's talent.

My biggest criticism of “A Means To Know End” is its lack of originality and embarrassingly obvious rip offs, namely being from Iced Earth’s “Something Wicked This Way Comes.” The title track is perhaps the best example of this, as their clean intro is very similar to “Melancholy” in both nature and tone. There is a riff that is nearly identical to a riff from “The Coming Curse” that had me double checking what I was listening to. Also, there are numerous harmonic guitar lines and song structures that are also heavily throughout the record that reek of Iced Earth's “Something Wicked…” and "Dark Saga."

Overall, “A Means To Know End” is a decent, but not spectacular release. There some catchy melodies, solid vocals and good solos, but also generic riffs and blatant rip offs. The best cuts are “In The Know,” “An Offered hand” and “Gods At War.” This album is nice effort, but nothing that hasn’t been done before and done better.