Forgotten Gems-Hibria-The skull collectors

I remember around 2005 or 2006 a friend passed on an extra copy of a disc called "Defying the rules" by some band called Birbria. Eventually I gave it a listen and was shocked. It was a mix of Helloween, Gamma Ray, Iron Maiden, Dio and others. It was also pretty spectacular and they showed some real poise for it being a debut LP. Most people think it's their best album to date. So why then did pick their follow-up to highlight? Hey, good question and here are two answers-A) This album doesn't get as much recognition as "Defying the rules" and B)I prefer the "The skull collectors". That last answer surprises me because I didn't think they could that they could surpass "Rules" but they did. This album is everything that the previous album was-heavy, slick, sometimes fast. However this time around there are no gaps, every ounce of the music is tight. The pace changes are automatic, there is no hesitation because everything is right on. They take the power of classicmetal and merge it with European style power metal. It's is definitely album that gets even better with each play. It's only a shame that the cover doesn't live up to the level of the music. They did another album last year, but I have yet to hear it.