Okay, gimme a second to copy & paste my opinions from another board...
The Reckoning: That chorus has annoying Horror Show-ish choir effects, but the underlying riff and the similar one at 0:41 BRING THE THRASHIFICATION. The main riff is okay. Tim (gotta stop calling him Ripper) has good shrieks here, and they don't sound too Halford-esque...they're not as clean, more of an edge and a snarl. The interlude at 2:15 sounds like Desert Rain, with a kewl bassline. It goes on for a little too long, and Tim's vocals start a little weak, but his shriek is flawless. Just needs to be trimmed a bit around the middle; otherwise, pretty cool power tune.
Hollow Man: Tim does great ballad vox...I mean, I knew he could after "Cathedral Spires," "Beyond the Realms of Death" live, and "Close To You," but he's got the emotion down. Chorus would SLAY if not for that annoying acoustic guitar hovering in the background...IT'S A POWER BALLAD. NO FUCKING ACOUSTICS IN THE CHORUS. THE CHORUS BRINGS THE POWER PART. GET IT, JON? That aside, Jon seems to be letting Richie get a little more dynamic on the drums. The last couple lines of each verse have a weird style, but Owens just goes EPIC at 2:38. Some good lead shit in the background at that point. Best ballad I've heard since Melancholy, but still not up to old-school quality.
Red Baron/Blue Max: No matter the historical context, that title sucks. But the song...YEE-HAW! This actually sounds a lot like Winter's Bane, with Tim cutting loose like he did on "The Horror Glances" and "The Sillhouette." Jon does some great varied riffage here, almost like the awesomeness of the Stormrider days. However, I could dig a solo over the rhythm break, but at least he's doing some really cool riffs. The ending bit of the clip is a great build-up to YET ANOTHER good riff. Definitely the best of the songs so far...even if it has the words "Blue Max" in the title.
Overall, it's not exactly a stunning return to form, but it certainly beats hell outta Horror Show. Jon came up with some pretty inventive riffs, and Tim does great justice to them. All seems to be going fairly well.
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