It's because of the great talent as a musician of Kai Hansen. You can instantly hear his guitar signature in every song, like in "Riding On Fire".
These two guys have done an amazing job on the first three records. 
Their second album Unification is also solid. Not quite all the songs, although they are all nice-to-good. Pure GR sound and some songs have a pretty strong Maiden/Priest vibe.
It's the cello, isn't it?
When exactly do you start hearing Erika?
Nah, I get you in a way (not the Iconoclast bit, you're insane
). I don't feel the urge to hear it often too, despite how hooky it is. It doesn't try to touch the stars like the classic albums did and it's pretty forgettable as a result. You think of SX you think of ambitiousness, not necessarily the long tracks, nothing in Underworld is as memorable as the solos in Fallen or the vibe of Wicked. On the other hand, they really nailed this album, more than the classics I dare say. And it's not like it's cookie-cut either.
Dark Assault is weaker than their previous 2 albums imo. I think I like the first 3 or 4 songs and ''Eye Of The World''. ''After The War'' is interesting, ''Predators'' is effective.
