A dream within a dream of an album by Sanctuary that predates Refuge Denied Think of Sanctuary and what do you think of? The movie from the 1970’s, Logan’s Run? Or the band that are named after this? Or do you think of the powerful cover to Sanctuary’s 1988 debut album Refuge Denied? The cover that depicts a ghoulish preacher brandishing a pistol condemning those from atop his pulpit whilst surrounded by his acolytes is all very late 80’s, an observation about the rampant televangelism which plagued the United States at the time.
Sanctuary launched Refuge Denied amongst the sea of thrash and glam metal which dominated the musical landscape. Although, Sanctuary’s music can be fast paced and at times galloping, it certainly doesn’t bear the hallmarks synonymous with thrash metal and instead Sanctuary has more akin with your traditional heavy metal with flourishes of progressive metal and power metal. But what of before? What happened before Refuge Denied? This is where the aptly titled Inception comes into play. Released this year, Inception is Sanctuary’s ‘lost demo’ tape that shows well, the root of the band, it shows the vision and where the band would go with Refuge Denied with most of the songs re-recorded for Refuge Denied. Inception even goes as far as to reference Refuge Denied with the same ghoulish preacher on front, surrounded again by his acolytes who enslave those in front of them leading them into the church in the background. According to the linear notes of Inception, during the recording of Sanctuary’s last studio album, The Year the Sun Died, released in 2014 produced by acclaimed producer Zeuss, guitarist Lenny Rutledge discussed the possibility of resurrecting the original demo tape he still had kicking about that contained two unreleased tracks. Evidently, Zeuss agreed to this complete remaster and remix of the lost demo that would ultimately become Inception. Of course nothing is sacred anymore with the internet and these so called ‘lost demos’ have actually been knocking about for a while now, but the quality has been shockingly poor, as you would expect. Zeuss has done a fantastic job of bringing everything up to a modern sound, he has placed a modern sheen over the recordings in a way that only a true remaster done by a professional can. In fact, you can go as far to say that Zeuss’ remaster of the Inception demo actually sounds considerably better than Refuge Denied and oddly, you’ll find yourself listening to Inception more. In regards to the ‘lost’ songs, what you get is one fantastic song and one almost forgettable song which even now is quite impossible to recall. Dream of the Incubus kicks things off on Inception and why this was ever put to one side is unthinkable. Dream of the Incubus is possibly on the best tracks that Sanctuary have ever recorded with its Mercyful Fate style riffing and lyrics and Warrel Dane hitting notes that are better reserved for King Diamond himself with Dream of the Incubus serving to remind us how good Dane’s voice was back in the day. However, I Am Insane pales in comparison to Dream of the Incubus and would maybe better staying lost adding little more than filler to Inception. Inception sonically sounds brilliant and it is down not just Zeuss who has done a more than stellar job in resurrecting something that was dead, but also down to the song writing and craftsmanship that existed with Sanctuary even this early in their career. Refuge Denied is good, but Inception is how it should have sounded and adding Dream of the Incubus into the mix only adds to this. 8/10 Adam
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Wicked Sensation sums up a genre at its pinnacle Sometimes Heavy Metal is so incestuous that it makes the Game of Thrones franchise blush. In the grand scheme of Heavy Metal family trees, it is so easy to get lost within who is in what, who was in where, who is playing with who and who has fallen with who. In fact, it’s all a little soap opera when you boil it down to that. When Don Dokken and George Lynch realised that they could no longer tolerate each other, it called time on Dokken in 1989.
Lynch, never wanting to be outdone by his former bandmate jumped straight back into work forming his own band, Lynch Mob with former Dokken drummer Mick Brown recruiting then relatively unknown vocalist, Oni Logan. With Lynch Mob, Lynch decided to increase Dokken’s already highly melodic music whilst pushing the heavier side of Dokken towards the more Melodic Hard Rock route already being explored by the likes of fellow American band, Mr. Big. As the decade ticked over from 1989 into 1990, Lynch Mob released their debut album, Wicked Sensation to a relatively successful response with its Melodic Hard Rock hooks coupled with that big stadium style chorus expected from the MTV rotation of the day. That is certainly not a criticism, as Wicked Sensation stands out amongst its peers with albums from Winger, Great White, Night Ranger and Danger Danger unable to keep up. Just like Dokken, Lynch managed to bag a deal with Elektra Records who coupled the recording of Wicked Sensation with acclaimed producer Max Norman, a man comfortable with the music scene with plenty of years under his belt. Besides the big releases that Norman worked on, he also worked on similar sounding releases by bands such as Lizzy Borden, Roughhouse, Dangerous Toys and Dirty Looks. Therefore, Norman and Lynch were like a match made in heaven and this would certainly play to Lynch Mob’s advantage. The band itself sound hungry on this album, Lynch and Logan fire out of the traps, almost vying for supremacy as a slinky riff from Lynch is attacked by an almost Steven Tyler type scream from Logan signalling the start of the title track of Wicked Sensation. Wicked Sensation has that late 80’s Rock nightclub feel to it with its funky Mr. Big style breakdown and flashy guitar solo that just goes to show that George Lynch is probably one of the most under-rated and best guitarists of the 1980’s. How do you follow Wicked Sensation? Well, you pick the first single from Wicked Sensation, which is River of Love. River of Love is a fantastic slice of Melodic Hard Rock that if you had to sum up the genre with one track, then River of Love would be a good call to demonstrate to someone as an example. Unfortunately for Lynch Mob, Wicked Sensation came out at a time when the tides of music began to turn that would ultimately put the pressure on Lynch Mob, but Wicked Sensation is full fantastic Melodic Hard Rock defining songs such as Sweet Sister Mercy and No Bed of Roses to the raucous Hell Child and the very of its time misogyny of Dance of the Dogs. All of these band together to form an album that was the pinnacle of Lynch Mob’s career with an album which still holds up well today. 8/10 Adam Heavy Rotation: April 2017 You have to like the buzz and the thrill that the start of a new year brings. A new year, a new set of albums to listen to, the feeling of what is coming and what to expect, who will surprise you, who will disappoint and come April, you’re beginning to get an idea of how the first half of the year will shape up. This month at Heavy Metal Meltdown has been catching up with a lot of albums released in February and March after a hectic reviewing schedule with shows. There are some albums retaining their places from last month and there are some albums that are celebrating important birthdays this month, a big shout out to Sin After Sin by Judas Priest which turned 40, The Legacy by Testament celebrating its 30th birthday and Visions by Stratovarius which leaves its teenage years behind by turning 20. This has been a very fun month with some excellent albums from both bands still trying to gain a firm foothold and bands that are already well established, so sit back, crank it up to 11 and enjoy. Don’t forget to subscribe to Spotify at HeavyMetalMeltdown, follow us on Twitter @HeavyMeltdown and give us a like on Facebook @HeavyMetalMeltdown.
Grandfather, tell me a story… There are two sides to the Power Metal coin, there are those bands which take their influences from the likes of Stratovarius and Helloween and then, there is Manowar. Manowar take no prisoners, why do with a guitar what you can do armed with only a broadsword and loincloth? Because of this, it is no wonder that Manowar left an army of bastard children in their wake.
One such band are Germany’s Majesty. Majesty have been raised on a diet of nearly 100% pure organic Manowar and let’s face it, there is nothing wrong with that. However, not all is rape, pillage and plundering, Majesty have had a strange career, a faux break up and a brief name change to Metalforce before returning to Majesty. This ultimately may have affected their career much more than you would expect and coupled with a generally high album output can give the impression that Majesty may have spread themselves far too thin over the years. That being said, Majesty’s previous album, Generation Steel, did make Heavy Metal Meltdown’s Top Ten albums of 2015. 2017 see’s the release of Rebels, the latest album from Majesty and straight from picking up the album, it makes you think something is amiss with the album cover. Gone are the heroic warriors in fantasy homoerotic poses holding their weapon aloft and what you do have is some sort of metal clad death car/dune buggy careening through the wastelands surrounded by explosions in an image that screams more Mad Max than Manowar. This gives rumblings of is there a change in the air? The answer is possibly. Vague? Yes. After the short intro, Path to Freedom, normal transmission of Majesty begins with Die Like Kings being well, very Majesty. However, something just isn’t quite right here, at first listen, you get the feeling that maybe Rebels is possibly a bit of a rushed job, it sounds very much like a rehashing of a few previous Majesty albums with the lyrical writing and melodies being much less focused than their previous effort. That being said, what is this sort of album without a few wry smiles at cheesy lyrics? After all, it is that sort of tongue in cheek songs about the battles of Heavy Metal which make this music so appealing. A lot of modernisms and younger colloquial speech has made its way into Rebels, for example, YOLO HM may be a lot of listeners first glimpse at the acronym for ‘you only live once’, but once you get over this annoyance, YOLO HM is actually quite enjoyable. That sentiment pretty much sums up Rebels, there are some very good tracks on here such as Fireheart and the superb ballad, Across the Lightning, but there are also a lot of forgettable tracks. The main issue with the lyrics on Rebels is that they are very childlike at times, there are a lot of ‘fucking this and that’ used alongside the very teenage angst of ‘go away and fuck yourself’ used in the final track Fighting ‘til the End and it all just doesn’t feel very Majesty. Rebels is what it is, it is another album from Majesty, it was always going to be a tall order to follow up Generation Steel and although a lot of the songs on Rebels are unmemorable, there is still a lot of fun to be had whilst listening to it. That is the story of Rebels and if you don’t like, then it is very much possible that Majesty don’t care and you can go and fuck yourself. 5/10 Adam Bang your head! Cast your mind back into the midst of time when different sides of the coin started to push into more extreme territories. Both Thrash Metal and Hardcore Punk took their respective origin points and turned up the violence and speedometer with it only being a matter of time before both genres humped and spawned what is now known as Crossover. This genre takes no prisoners with its bleak social commentary and rabid fan base which like to party hard and mosh even harder.
Iron Reagan began life as a spin-off side project by Municipal Waste and Darkest Hour members, Tony Foresta, Landphil Hall and Ryan Parrish. They decided to shake things up a little by moving away from the partying all hours and puking in the trash can to taking a more social role with particular strong feelings against the American Dream, politics, Republicans and the right wing in general. This year sees Iron Reagan release their 3rd studio album, Crossover Ministry. For those who know what Iron Reagan are about, then Crossover Ministry is exactly what you would expect from the new heroes of Crossover/Hardcore Punk. Crossover Ministry is fast, violent, nihilistic and a more than perfect successor to Iron Reagan’s previous album, The Tyranny of Will. Anyone who purchased The Tyranny of Will will be pleased to know that Crossover Ministry picks up exactly where it left off as it will bully its way through your speakers punching you in the face before sticking a beer down your throat. If you have never had the pleasure of listening to Iron Reagan, then prepare yourself for assault and battery. Crossover Ministry cuts its way into action as the feedback from an overdriven guitar announces that Iron Reagan are here before hitting the accelerator pedal down with A Dying World and firing forward at break neck speed as you can almost hear the mosh pit exploding. What you get with Crossover Ministry is a-typical of Iron Reagan; a thoroughly good head-banging Hardcore tracks interspersed with songs that are less than 30 seconds long, little quips of anger that do their best to act as an entrée, a small tease, whetting your appetite before the next course of violence. However, some of these are actually very good and shouldn’t be written off as fodder such as the fantastic You Never Learn, Power of the Skull and Dogsnotgods. Iron Reagan have never been a band for hanging around with Crossover Ministry lasting a mere 29 minutes. However, Crossover Ministry is an album that is all about quality over quantity and there are some pure Crossover anthems here, Dead with my Friends, More War and the title track are all fantastic additions to the Iron Reagan cannon with their fist in the air choruses before descending back into the pit for some much-needed dispensing of violence. However, the standout track from Crossover Ministry is probably the best track that Black Flag never wrote, Fuck the Neighbours. Fuck the Neighbours comes complete with samples from your white picket neighbours complaining about noise levels, drinking, the state of the yard and calling the cops dragging your memories back to the late 80’s when your music scared the generation before. Crossover Ministry is a more than decent album, although, there is a time and a place for it. Sunday morning with a raging hangover is definitely not that time. However, with a beer in your hand, surrounded by your mates as the time pushes into the next day is the perfect time to unleash Crossover Ministry or even getting in from work, stick your middle finger in the air and think, no longer my problem! 8/10 Adam Striking Gold One of the best things to happen to Heavy Metal in the last 10 years is the rise of bands playing a more Traditional Heavy Metal sound. These bands have taken their inspiration from the likes of Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Accept and Manowar, mixing it up with the catchy good-time feel melodic hooks of Van Halen, Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard. One such band to blast this Traditional Heavy Metal are Canada’s best kept secret, Striker.
Striker released their debut album Eyes in the Night in 2010 and since then, Striker have released 5 studio albums, 2 of which have been with Napalm Records giving the band some rather good worldwide exposure. More recently, Striker have forged their own way in the world by choosing to forego an established record label and released their latest album, the eponymous Striker, on their own Record Breaking Records. This of course has its advantages, Striker are now their own bosses and in control of their own destiny as well as having complete creative control with 2017 seeing them not only release Striker, but also head out onto the road with Finnish Power Metal heroes, Sonata Arctica. Wasting no time with an intro track, Striker blasts into action with the instantly infectious Former Glory, a track with all the hooks that you will ever need. Former Glory contains a fantastic riff, a catchy memorable chorus that is actually hugely guilty for an earworm. You will be humming this for days as the track itself is pure late 80’s melody with a guitar solo to boot! In fact, Striker delivers a one-two punch with Former Glory and the almost Anthrax driven Pass Me By. Pass Me By has that on the beat fast riffing and blast beats that with entice any Anthrax or Suicidal Tendencies fan in with its Crossover sound as you can almost hear the skateboard wheels grinding along and if this song doesn’t feature in an upcoming Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game then a great injustice will be done to Striker. After this combo punch, Striker decide this is a good time to boot you in the gut with the Lemmy inspired Born to Lose. Just like the opening track, Born to Lose is coupled with a chorus that is straight out of the late 80’s. It is simple yet effective and how much more can you ask for? If Pass Me By didn’t peak your interest then Born to Lose certainly will. There is actually only one pointless track on Striker and that is the instrumental interlude of Cheating Death which comes out at under a minute. But after that commercial break, Striker returns with a non-stop arsenal of songs and then it is back to back party time, so much that you can smell the beer, denim and leather emanating from the record as it burns through tracks such as Rock the Night, Freedom’s Call and the final track with its fist in the air chorus, Curse of the Dead. Striker is actually a really good album, it is an album by a band which enjoy what they do and Striker don’t need a big label behind them to show that. In fact, kudos to Striker for doing this on their own, they own the road and haven’t faltered. Other than the instrumental, this album is fantastic and deserves to not go under the radar. An excellent record from an excellent band. 8/10 Adam Overkill stretch their ‘Green Patch’ to 32 years with another consistent album Many of the successful Thrash Metal bands which rose to fame in the 1980’s chose different paths throughout the 1990’s. From the more commercial approach taken by Metallica and Megadeth, a change in vocalists with the likes of Anthrax and Exodus or a change to a more contemporary sound of the time such as Testament and Slayer. However, over the course of their 32-year professional career, Overkill have stuck firmly to their guns, writing good old fashioned style Thrash Metal without bowing or answering to anyone, if Thrash Metal wasn’t as en vogue in that year, so what? Who cares? Not Overkill certainly.
One thing you can say about Overkill is that they have been hugely consistent over the years, since 1985, Overkill have released a total of 18 studio albums and what makes Overkill stand out from their peers is that they never really released a poor album; granted some albums are better than others, but all in all, Overkill planted their flag in the ground and played by their rules. Overkill are not in the game for suddenly changing their sound and their latest release, The Grinding Wheel is textbook Overkill. The Grinding Wheel picks up where the previous album, White Devil Armory left off, although, The Grinding Wheel contains more than its fair share of longer than average songs bringing the entire album to clock in at over an hour with many of the songs having elongated bridges or breakdowns. The opening track from the album, Mean, Green, Killing Machine is a perfect example of this, pushing over the seven and a half minute mark and although it is full of the music, sounds and hallmarks are a just Overkill to the core, the record itself takes some getting used to. This theme runs though The Grinding Wheel, at a superficial level and a first listen, the album isn’t breath taking. The Grinding Wheel certainly takes a few listens to get into, it is certainly a grower and far from Overkill’s best work, but on the other hand, it is definitely nowhere near their worst. After a few plays, you will realise that there are some great riffing and beats from the band here, the guitar solo in Mean, Green, Killing Machine is probably one of the best of their career. The song itself is coupled with a riff that at times is quite reminiscent of Master of Puppets before descending into a Black Sabbath breakdown before coming back at full fury. This Black Sabbath bluesy-style riffing also makes an appearance at the middle of the album with Come Heavy. Come Heavy again takes a little bit of getting used to, it doesn’t feel like your typical Overkill song, but it works and once that clicks, you’ll realise that it is one of the more fun songs on the album. There is a feeling on The Grinding Wheel that Overkill are not truly happy with things in their home country at the moment, there are snide comments and social commentary during Red, White and Blue, Our Finest Hour, Shine On and the title track itself. However, Overkill deserve an accolade for The Grinding Wheel as Come Heavy features the line ‘I took the cycle path’, a line that you wouldn’t expect to see on any album, let alone a Heavy Metal album. Overall, The Grinding Wheel is long, but a definite grower, it will not set the world on fire, but it will certainly not pass under the radar. Once more, Overkill have released another consistent record and since it clicked, The Grinding Wheel hasn’t been off rotation. 7/10 Adam It’s About Time Horisont got the recognition they deserve How would you describe Horisont? Well, it’s a tad difficult, Horisont refuse to be tied down into one specific genre, rather, each one of Horisont’s album ploughs a different furrow. However, there is one recurrent theme in each one of their works and that is a retro sound synonymous with 1970’s Hard Rock/Heavy Metal, from the more Progressive elements of Black Sabbath, Wishbone Ash and Uriah Heep with that lyrical flair of the likes of Blue Öyster Cult and Rush.
Bubbling away under the mainstream radar, Horisont have always been destined for bigger things and that opportunity knocked last year with the band signing to Century Media Records, it now gives Horisont a decent amount of publicity and money to make this relatively hidden gem of a band more accessible to others. Early 2017 marks the release of the latest Horisont album, the aptly titled; About Time with its Jules Verne, Steampunk Nikola Telsa styled album cover appearing from another era itself, the size of a CD album cover does not do it justice and you can imagine it full sized on a 12” gatefold sleeve. The previous album by Horisont, Odyssey, was a 70’s Progressive Rock masterpiece tinged with leanings of Progressive Metal in parts. However, the element of Progressive Metal that garnished Odyssey is now abolished completely in favour of a more late 60’s/early 70’s Psychedelic sound. As the Moog Synthesiser whirls into life with its slow arpeggio pattern signalling the first track on About Time, the infectious The Hive. The Hive will pull you in instantly, with its blend of Wishbone Ash twin harmony guitars, Blue Öyster Cult high-brow lyrics and Uriah Heep style David Byron screams. In fact, the best description of About Time is that it was released 40 years too late, most of the tracks on the album feel as if they wouldn’t be out of place in 1977 with a production sheen on the album that wouldn’t be out of place either. Unexpectedly, About Time clocks in at under 40 minutes with each track being more focused on being short and catchy rather than long and meandering. As About Time fires through its repertoire, the album builds up and up, firing through catchy melodic songs such as Electrical, Without Warning and the Swedish Letare, each song drags you with its earworm style songs and soothing familiar backing vocals. Familiar is a good word to describe About Time, it has that loveable worn in feel of your favourite record, whilst still being new and exciting. About Time pulls from all the bands you grew up with, whilst having a life of its own, songs such as Point of Return, Electrical and Dark Sides all have elements of those big American sounding bands such as Boston, Kansas and Styx with their harmonised backing vocals and soaring melodies, whilst at the same time pulling from the likes of The Moody Blues and in particular Justin Hayward. Horisont have excelled themselves in an album that is not only full of beautiful songs, but also have that ability to transport you to the 1970’s through the music itself. About Time is fun, easy to listen to and above all thoroughly enjoyable. Odyssey just missed out on a top 10 place in 2015 and About Time is a much stronger album, deserved of that place come year end. 9/10 Adam Black Star Riders make it 3 out of 3 and strike gold once more Scott Gorham has a legacy that needs no introductions. Gorham, has spent the past 30 years carefully safeguarding the legacy of Thin Lizzy and Phil Lynott and has no need to answer to anyone regarding his credentials or musical integrity. Starting as a few tours under the Thin Lizzy banner venerating the late, great romantic rogue that is Phil Lynott and deciding not to record new music with this name; Gorham formed Black Star Riders with former The Almighty vocalist, Ricky Warwick.
Black Star Riders hit the ground running in 2013 with their debut album, All Hell Breaks Loose being received to positive reviews. This was followed by their 2015 album, The Killer Instinct, once more to positive reviews with both albums making the Heavy Metal Meltdown’s top 10 of their respective years. So here we are, 2017 and Black Star Riders have released their 3rd album, Heavy Fire with the first noticeable difference being the absence of the 1940’s style pin-up in exchange for a Victorian style Strong Man. Heavy Fire continues in Black Star Riders well established sound vein, but over the course of their 3 albums, Black Star Riders have moved away from the very obvious Thin Lizzy sound to a positively more superficial Thin Lizzy sound. Heavy Fire is the sound of a band evolving, stretching out and finding their own feet thoroughly on their own. This is evident on the title track itself with the quick fire twin guitar harmony bursts seemingly gone, replaced by a decent Hard Rock riff although it is delightfully similar to Lack of Communication by Ratt. There are still flourishes of that twin guitar sound though, Dancing with the Wrong Girl has some great little runs that are reminiscent of Waitin’ for an Alibi, whilst Testify or Say Goodbye has some evidently obvious Thin Lizzy leanings and is no surprise why it was picked for a single. However, Heavy Fire is a somewhat heavier album than its predecessors, tracks like Who Rides the Tiger, Thinking About You Could Get Me Killed and the title track are pure examples of this, the former having an excellent guitar solo courtesy of Gorham and Damon Johnson. This heavy trait even pushes into the more ballady type songs, Black Star Riders are no strangers to the ballad, songs like Hey Judas and Blindsided provided a more sombre moment on their previous albums, but Heavy Fire’s Cold War Love has that added crunch providing something else into Black Star Riders’ dynamic. The band itself seems to go from strength to strength, not only do they have their talisman in Gorham, but Warwick oozes charisma, singing each lyric with a painful, truthful conviction that he has been there and done it with his soulful voice that is a million miles away from the raspy Punk sound that came with The Almighty. Warwick now sounds experienced, his voice drenched in whiskey from the romantic True Blue Kid, mournful Cold War Love or the retelling of a teenage hellraising story in Ticket to Rise, Warwick manages to make you hang on every word. Heavy Fire is a fantastic record, from start to finish, it is drips with hooks and overly catchy melodies that will have you wanting to replay the record over and over again. Based on the strength of Heavy Fire, Black Star Riders are looking at making it 3 out of 3 for top 10 releases, if you’re a fan of Hard Rock and don’t yet own this album, go out and buy Heavy Fire, it will be stuck in rotation for months to come. 9/10 Adam Grave Digger reiterate the 10 Commandments of Metal Give or take changing their name twice in the past, once to Digger and once more to Hawaii, Grave Digger have been a relatively consistent band. In some ways, they are Germany’s answer to Motörhead or Slayer, Grave Digger have a sound, a Heavy Metal blueprint tattooed into their bones and because of this, you know what you’re getting every time you pick up a Grave Digger album. Grave Digger have that Traditional Heavy Metal sound, songs which have the running theme of battles gone by, swords, magic and of course Heavy Metal with huge rousing choruses that would appeal to any fan of Accept, Judas Priest and Saxon.
Within the last decade, Grave Digger have released very few albums, but these have all been of good quality, Clash of the Gods and Return of the Reaper received more than positive reviews and rightly so and although it has been a good few years since Grave Digger released their last studio album, Grave Digger are back with another album following in these footsteps with Healed by Metal. Clocking in at under 40 minutes, Healed by Metal takes a leaf out of Motörhead’s book and literally wastes no time arsing about, kicking things off with title track from the album, a song that not only asks for you to throw the horns in the air alongside your Heavy Metal brothers and sisters, but demands it. This is the running theme throughout the album, each song is crafted to give you that feel good factor and adrenaline that you get a concert as Chris Boltendahl bellows his way through the album. Boltendahl has never had the greatest of voices, but his raw rasping shout is as integral to Grave Digger’s sound as Axel Ritt’s crushing guitar. Boltendahl easily rips through each song, with the devastating one two punch of When Night Falls and Lawbreaker, both of which have the sound of the bastard child of Judas Priest and Accept tearing its way into the world. Heavy Metal will always have cross-overs of originality and Healed by Metal is no exception. As a crack of the snare drum brings Free Forever into life with its chugging riff and lead guitar string bends brings memories of You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’ by Judas Priest or even more so, Solid Ball of Rock by Saxon before taking on a life of its own with its fantastic twin guitar harmony solo followed by the rather cheesy but fun acoustic chorus. Healed by Metal never really lets up, through We Call for War, The Hangman’s Eye and Laughing With the Dead, complete with the cheesy clichéd laughs and woah’s that would bring a wry smile to even the most miserable Heavy Metal fan. Healed by Metal continues Grave Digger’s run of rather impressive albums and although Healed by Metal falls marginally behind Clash of the Gods and Return of the Reaper, it is an enjoyable album nonetheless. As stated above though, you know what you’re getting with a Grave Digger album. If you are looking for something new or to set the world on fire, then unfortunately, you won’t find it here. What you will find though is an album of decent Heavy Metal songs by a band that has a consistent output over the years. Turn it up, play it loud and bang that head! 7/10 Adam |
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