If they can keep up the momentum, they'll be playing their arena-ready Rock in an arena near you very soon.

You're a teenager. You've released two Glam-Rock-inspired Hair-Metal-friendly albums and you've toured with legends like W.A.S.P. All of a sudden you drop off the face of the earth. What happens? You explode out of the gate of the black hole in which engulfed you to discover brand new horizons, or so German quartet Rebellious Spirit have so done with their third studio outing, the first in four years, on the aptly-titled 'New Horizons'.

As if your senses were awakening for the very first time, waves of sound, colour, smell, taste and touch hit you effortlessly; with '...Horizons', from the moment it begins with its atmospheric 'Intro' which then explodes into the machine-gun riff-and-drum express that is 'Devil In Me', it is clear this is a new breed of beast.

Stripping themselves of that Glam Rock style and trading it in for arena-ready Alternative Rock, a sound that's bolstered by Avenged Sevenfold-aping Heavy Metal and Alter Bridge-ripping choruses alongside a penchant for Classic Rock deep within, '...Horizons' is characterised from start to finish by its catatonically catastrophic riffs which crunch against synth-weaved orchestral movements ('Enemy') and loop under groove-riddled funks ('Fuck'). As each track weaves its way through mammoth-sized sounds that should be sent straight to the radios, you begin to forget Rebellious Spirit's youth and begin to believe they've been making albums like this for years; seasoned veterans if you wish.

Whilst the majority of the album feels somewhat formulaic – big riffs, big choruses, powerful vocals – it's the moments where they stray away from their core sound that the album dips in quality, as if they've waded a little too far out into their new horizons for where they're currently at. 'Give It A Try' sets off a ripple of keys and a showcase of vocalist Jannik Fischer's powerhouse vocals, yet erupts into a simplistic burst of nothing, a weak comedown from its predecessor 'The Core' – a song which sounds as if they're playing with machine guns in place of guitars, as synths slide around underneath as harsh vocals growl overhead like a beast in predator mode.

This is a ginormous record with lofty ambitions, and if they can keep up the momentum that they've packed into 'New Horizons' thirteen songs, they'll be playing their arena-ready Rock in an arena near you very soon.

Jack Press