NWOFHM #12 Metal Conquest
Released the same year as the second Mausoleum Gate album, this extended play by the new solo project of its drummer managed to surprise me a lot. Iron Griffin formed by Oskari Räsänen joins the rank of the highly effective Finnish heavy metal scene currently lead by the likes of Chevalier, Lord Fist, Legionnaire or the new excellent Outlaw. While I loved Mausoleum Gate’s self titled album, their sophomore bored the hell out of me so I was happy to discover that Iron Griffin managed to make up for that with this fresh and exciting release.
After a synthwave intro reminiscent of the Stranger Things soundtrack, Oskari delivers four solid heavy metal tracks. He handles almost everything on the EP and for a debut release, he knew which direction to follow. He even did the super geeky but highly evocative artwork.
Session member Toni Pentikänen did a wonderful job at the mic even if his resume is basically empty as far as I know. We’re served clean, high pitched and screamy vocals of pristine quality. The keyboards were handled by F.F. Nieminen of the excellent Rivette (covered by the Magickal Realm back in 2017) and they add a certain classiness to the compositions. The songs are catchy, melodic but they’re never cheesy or overly saturated. “Message from Beyond”, “Metal Conquest” and “Journey to the Castle of the King” are all bangers below the four minutes mark and they’re super fun. “Lord Inquisitor” ends the short release with a more epic song structure and some badass lyrics.
With iron, with steel / I will avenge for the gods / With power and force /I command /And claim my throne again!
The bass lines are thick the guitars vibrant, subtle but really outgoing. Iron Griffin aren’t about heaviness at all, they’re all about atmosphere and songwriting. The riffs are a necessary tool for their identity but Iron Griffin doesn’t entirely rely on them and that’s a strength for that particular style.
Like the bands I mentioned in my introduction, Iron Griffin surely play heavy metal but they do it in a way where it’s devoid of fake nostalgia and easy copycat posturing. The Finns are academicians of heavy metal, they know how to craft memorable songs with an original sound worth praising.
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