Agoraphobia (the extreme or irrational fear of open or public places) is the fifth album of this metal act from the United States, driven by vocalist Mike Tirelli. Yes, the exact same man who is part of the relatively new German heavy metal act Messiah’s Kiss. While his role in the aforementioned band is relatively limited, in Holy Mother things are different. Mike is the sole songwriter of Agoraphobia, although producer Herman Frank has lend a helping hand with a few guitar parts.

Holy Mother is not your average power metal act. In fact, this band plays a more traditional form of metal with straightforward compact songs, powerful riffs and vocal lines that sometimes remind of singers like Dio (like in “Society, Anxiety”) or Halford. Mike’s vocals are less diverse than in Messiah’s Kiss, but more powerful and direct. Well, one can’t really compare Holy Mother and Messiah’s Kiss, and that is a good thing in my opinion.

Holy Mother sounds pretty refreshing and that’s a big bonus.

My biggest problem with this album is that, although the songs are good, they lack a certain something. I can’t really put my finger on it, but they just don’t have a truly strong appeal; during most songs you are waiting for a climax that just never comes. The song structures are pretty simple and the level of variation within each track is too limited. Fortunately Mike has kept them compact enough, although maybe a bit too simplistic.

Agoraphobia features the Black Sabbath cover “Never Say Die” and Mike even tries to sing like Ozzy, which sounds rather comical, but successful nevertheless: Holy Mother pulls off a great imitation of the classic track. In short; Mike Tirelli delivers us a decent metal album with a good production and although it sounds refreshing it is slightly lacking in the variety department.