Metal Underground.com

Featuring respected players of the Norwegian metal scene – including members from Dimmu Borgir and Susperia – Chrome Division has been swinging wildly with all four full-length albums. Some of those swings connected solidly for stellar offerings blending rock and metal (especially sophomore effort “Booze, Broads and Beelzebub”) while others have been less satisfying. It’s not entirely Chrome Division’s fault, dealing with vocalist and bassist departures as well as schedules of members in much bigger bands, but the quality and focus has ping ponged a bit between albums.

Keeping that trend going is “Infernal Rock Eternal,” which is about as far from the absurdly over-the-top “3rd Round Knockout” as you could get while still keeping the same band name. Gone are the silly “Bulldogs Unleashed” and “7 G-String” anthems, replaced by a pure and unadulterated love of all the rock acts that influenced metal in its early days. There are still heavy riffs and booming metal drums, but this disc is significantly more rooted in hard rock from decades past.

At times the album seems like it could come from a totally different outfit, such as “Lady of Perpetual Sorrow,” which is significantly more soulful than anything we’ve heard from these guys in the past. It seems like the hard partying bikers hit that part of the drunk where things get sad and you reminisce about the past. Is the party finally ending?

On the flip side of that are “No Bet For Free” and “Mistress in Madness,” which are more along the lines of classic Chrome Division. Rounding out the disc are the grungy and psychedelic sounds on “The Moonshine Years,” some serious twang on “On The Road Again,” and then tracks like “You’re Dead Now” and “On The Road Again” even have segments that drop out of metal entirely.

So where does “Infernal Rock Eternal” land on the scale of Chrome Division releases? That depends on how much you dig the classic rock outfits of the ‘80s and ‘90s and if you’d like to hear that sound translated into a more metal-focused medium. While the album doesn’t hit the perfect balance between energetic metal and hard partying lyrics on “Booze, Broads, and Beelzebub,” it still hits closer to the mark than “3rd Round Knockout,” and is an overall great look back at the origins of metal.