During their first two years the band concentrated on writing music, rehearsing, and performing live. In 1990 Masquerade recorded a promotional cassette and a single that was favorably reviewed in the English magazine Metal Hammer.[citation needed] After signing on with Empire Records, in early 1991 the band started recording their self-titled album MASQUERADE.[citation needed] The record company brought the engineer Ronny Lahti (Saigon Kick, Europe, Talisman, Electric Boys , Clockwise) into the project for finalizing the mixing. The album was released in 1992 to positive reviews by critics, who found the album comparable to the music of bands like Whitesnake and Def Leppard.[citation needed]