Doro Pesch is nothing if not a hard rock survivor. A badass in the male-dominated genre since 1983, she’s not only hung and competed with the boys, but outlasted thousands of them. Twenty-five years later, Raise Your Fist isn’t a victory lap (a two-disc retrospective earlier this year took care of that) but a confirmation that Doro is simply — and without sounding too cheesy — a women who was born to rock. With song titles such as “Rock Till Death,” “Take No Prisoner” and “Little Headbanger (Nackenbrecher)” it’s pretty easy to see where Pesch and her able band are coming from. This is mainly the kind of hard rock/heavy metal that, well, made us raise our fists in the early 1980s. Her vocal delivery finds that right balance of being very spirited but not going over the top.

While most of the disc blazes, it’s the tender moments that may stand out most. “It Still Hurts,” a duet with Lemmy, is an early surprise and highlight. They both sing like ex-lovers trying to sort out the wreckage of the past. It’s always a bonus when Lemmy steps out of his comfort zone and aces it. Pesch gets a stellar effort from the main Motorhead man. “Engel” is a piano-ballad sung in German. While it sounds out of place at first, it earns its place after repeated listens. “Hero” closes the disc and is an absolute lovely tribute to Ronnie James Dio, a man that will deserve praise as long as the style of heavy metal continues to exist.

Elsewhere Firewind/Ozzy guitarist Gus G. shows up to shred over “Grab the Bull (Last Man Standing)” but it’s tempered by “Freiheit,” which isn’t so much a bad song as it suffers from ill-conceived programmed drumming. That’s a small gripe on a disc that is infinitely better than most older headbangers would expect from this veteran. Actually file Doro Pesch in the little-known legend slot. She continues to earn that title.

Label: Nuclear Blast America (the album can be ordered here in CD format)