Baazlvaat - An Old Forgotten Text (2022) / 85%

 

A New Merging of Genres

This mysterious entity from Flint, Michigan, a location I know only because of its controversial water, delivers another bewildering ride of an album. Last year's The Higher Power was a surprising record that made a few waves here and there and this one just expands on the themes previously explored there. Before we go any further I need to say that I disagree with the assessment that many people share about metal, it's not stale or a dead genre. There's a lot of experimentation to be found and Baazlvaat are a band that's not afraid to burn the house down and rebuild it with funkier components.

Baazlvaat are sort of like Black Magick SS if they weren't masturbating to Nazi imagery and were, for the most part, actually playing metal.They're the sort of band with a solid main identity in one particular style (in their case it's black metal) who's also adding an array of extraneous elements. I'm a big fan of kitchen sink bands such as Leeches of Lore, Tjolgtjar or Bretwaldas of Heathen Doom and this American duo certainly explored the fridge thoroughly.

They merge the exploratory side of psych rock, the loose aspects of lo fi rock, the rawness of black metal, the synth presence of dungeon synth/synthpop/symphonic black metal or the playfulness melodicism of heavy metal. This exhausting list creates one pungent mix of influences that's hard to classify or pinpoint but easy to get entranced by. It's not a confused mess at all, there's an assurance in their varied but cohesive songs that's hard to ignore.

A song like "Three Heads from the Black Depths" evokes the retro groovy rock/metal of Uncle Acid or Graveyard but adds piano and unhinged raw harsh vocals while a song like "Cold Sky Ice Frosten'" brings forth a sort of shred heavy metal mood. Furthermore, there's a Middle-eastern break in the final track followed by clean vocals akin to lo-fi epic heavy metal and there's a blues/country break in "The Missing Key". It's insane.

The pièce de résistance of the album is certainly the almost nine minutes "The Iron Lung", a monumental epic black/heavy metal track and it reminds me of both Agatus and Wytch Hazel (the dandyness in the riffing) in spirit but it's combined with a sort of outsider art approach that makes it peculiar. Still,the most important is the quality of their compositions and they deliver that in spades and while it overstays its welcome a bit, the album has no real weak moments. An Old Forgotten Text is definitely not for everyone and its originality resides in the merging of existing elements instead of the creation of new ones but the ability of combining styles well is still a feat in itself.

Bandcamp

Ezra Brooks / Serpent Rider - Visions of Esoteric Splendor (2021) / 85%

R I F F S

Epic heavy metal is a tightly knit community, it’s a very niche genre of an already niche music style. It’s then normal that each epic heavy release gets its fair share of scrutiny from their nerd community.

Ezra Brooks, the solo project of Smoulder’s lead guitarist Shawn Vincent has always been excellent. The Magickal Realm has covered two of their previous releases, including the split with Emblem, a super underrated Newfoundland heavy metal band and I was stoked to hear more from them. When I learned that Matt Preston (known for Borrowed Time) was gonna be a guest on their side of the split, I got even even more excited. This guy is a beast and I’m keeping myself pure for whenever the new Prelude to Ruin release decides to drop as he’s featured there too. Anyhow, Ezra Brooks is a riff firstt, ask questions later kind of band and right from the start, you’re bludgeoned with excellent guitars. “The Helm of Sacorb” (who the hell is Sacorb?) riffs hard and the presence of Preston on the lead guitar adds another excellent layer to their solid formula. Unfortunately, Shawn’s decision to put the vocals so low in the mix wasn’t the best decision, it’s like listening to Mark Shelton singing from the immortal realm of heroes deep down in hell. It’s still kinda cool and it’s certainly distinctive for their style but I would have preferred something else.

Their music has this enjoyable epic but science fiction based feel but without getting too nerdy or gimmicky. Just blistering quick epic heavy metal that’s constantly delivering high energy material. The synth opening of “Am I just Paranoid” reminded me of the smartest sci fi prog metal bands like Shadow Gallery or early Ayreon, it’s a nice touch. "When the Future Fails", a somber track evokes the trad days of Fates Warning with aplomb but it's mixed with the contemporary sound of North American obscure heavy metal.

Serpent Rider is also originally a solo project, one created by Brandon Corsair (Draghkar, Azath…) and they released a decent demo back in 2019. Back with a different lineup and a widely different singer, their side of the split slaps. Their new singer (who could very well be Brandon’s wife!?!?!) is a gifted vocalist but her style, approach and delivery are all 0% metal, it creates some sort of disconnect with the supremely metal guitars of Corsair and Kelly Kuciemba (from death metal legends Drawn and Quartered). To be honest, I’m not sure it’s a negative aspect, it just takes some time to get used to. I still think Mariah Carey fronting Omen would still work, to be fair. Anyway, if Tsamis made unconventional women vocals work with Lordian Guard, I’m sure others can too.

If there’s something than the Greeks like more than remembering everyone how cool they were 3000 years ago, it’s certainly Manilla Road (there ya go, namedropping the Road in the same review twice) and it’s felt within their music. Their epic heavy metal sound is basically USPM meets Doomsword, hellas metal and the Italian pagan epic doom mood of Doomsword (see “The Wretch”). The Greek influence is even obvious as they cover a Varathron cover but in a heavy metal style, it’s also present in Brandon’s compositions for Draghkar's debut album, this just shows how well he integrates those influences in those two different projects. Their three original compositions are speedy epic numbers with a lot of groove and might, it's aggressive but pretty distinguished.  Andrew Lee (Ripped to Shreds, etc…) handles the drums and bass and it’s pretty much faultless as you’d expect with him. Serpent Rider are super super tight musically, not something usual for the style that often likes to play it loose but it works very well for them.

Both possessing unique vocals, this is a pretty interesting split release, their influences are obvious for the acolytes of epic metal but they do a lot of new and fresh things as well. Something I’d like from both bands is a long ass epic song, like more than ten minutes, I’m sure they would succeed at the task too. They have the chops, the talent and the reasons to do so. Excellent split, lads.

Out soon on No Remorse records (CD/LP)

Edit: based on Shawn, Sacorb is just Brocas backwards and the whole song is a tribute to the legendary US band Brocas Helm. This rules.

Metal Bounty Hunter Volume 12

 

The Metal Bounty Hunter series is back with four short-ish reviews, all about doom and heavy this time.

Zodiac - Stone Command (2015) / 85%

Digitally Challenged: Part 6 The Zodiac Killer?

This short lived doom band from Brisbane impressed me a lot with their final recording, a three track extended play released on tape by the excellent Heavy Chains Records. Three of the members are now playing in Knifer, some sort of Motorheadish heavy/speed metal about booze, but Zodiac was all about traditional doom metal.

The first two tracks are around five or six minutes, both faster affairs while Legacy is close to ten and encompasses their sound well. The nasal vocals by Ben Peters can obviously recall the legends of Sabbath and Pagan Altar and he does a great job at reciting the classic occult but fun lyrics reminding me of Cathedral or Witchfinder General. Their production is pretty tight and professional, the two guitars are heavy and super punchy, delivering riffs that would please any doomsters and top notch solos as well (check “The Devil’s Cavalry”). All in all, it’s honest, hard working, blue collar doom that’s super well written and on the edge of being memorable. A shame they died, really.

Eldritch Rites - Hell And Doom And Days Long Gone (2020) / 82%

Pub doom

The trio from Melbourne plays raw heavy/doom with an unhinged passion possibly fueled by liquor. Also evolving as Open Door of Doom but with a designated English singer, Eldritch Rites are pretty fun stuff unfortunately plagued by a lackluster production. It’s sort of like it was recorded live in the pub on the weekend to make sure the dudes had an easy access to booze served by the devil. I can’t really blame them to be fair.

Regardless of my first impressions about the production, this is a band with strong musicianship and songwriting, it’s more layered than I was expecting to be. It’s downtrodden trad doom made by men in their thirties or forties and it’s fairly effective at its goal. Songs like “If These Walls Could Speak” are miserable, it’s heavy, slow and makes you feel like you just got divorced and she’ll obviously get the kids and even the dog. 10 minutes closer “They Came to Raise the Dead” has this epic but still raw feel and ends with “Lunar”, a joyful but mournful acoustic guitar recalling English progressive folk.

There’s a certain English mood throughout the album and it’s also encompassed in how sad it is. Dudes, there’s koalas in Australia, why are so fucking sad? Go check how slow they move or something. The guitar playing of Shayne Joseph (also in prog rock/heavy metallers Trebuchet) is quite excellent, it’s pretty brutal, crunchy for the genre (see “Witch Woman”) and has this heavy rock quality to it. His vocals possess this sort of accented exaggeration and they wouldn’t be out of place in a Monty Python sketch about witches or some shit.

Recommended if you like your doom cooked slow and possibly still blood red.

Assembly at Dusk - Assembly at Dusk (2013) / 88%

Digitally Challenged: Part 7 We leave at dawn.

“Got the tape, I'll write a review during my Christmas break. Thanks a lot!” - yours truly in 2013

Well, better late than never, you know. Sorry dudes! I’ve been meaning to tackle this tape for years now as it’s very good metal deserving of more scrutiny. Unfortunately, Connecticut’s Assembly At Dusk broke up shortly after I failed to write a review for this compilation regrouping the two demos they did in 2013. Their take on heavy metal was fairly fresh at the time and I feel it’s something that could be somewhat trendy today with bands like Spirit Adrift. The super melodic but tight vocals of Jeffrey Schaefer (hopefully related to the redneck terrorist we all know) are the most powerful aspect of the band but the compositions are top notch too.

Their sound as its core is epic heavy metal but there’s a lot of doom (think The Gates of Slumber) and even some blackened elements in how the riffs are composed. “Money, Gods and Greed” or “Before This City is Aflame” pretty much sounds like black/heavy metal with clean vox, almost a mix of Enslaved and Manilla Road. Even if it was record in the basement of their guitarist, I think the production is excellent, especially for demos, I’d prefer the vox to be a bit more on forefront but I barely have any complaints about the crunchy riffs and the black & tremolo infused leads. Their songs are intricate and most are around the six minute mark, they’re filled with details and there’s no filler here.

They’re another sublime band who died too quickly, this is still on their Bandcamp so no excuses not to check ‘em out.

--------------------------------------------

Trebuchet – Trebuchet (2020) / 70%

Not quite breaking down the walls yet

Formed by Dave Gilbert (who’s also in four other bands I’ve never heard of) and Shayne Joseph (Eldritch Rites, Dire Fate…), Trebuchet plays an interesting form of doom metal with strong ties to the past. It could be described as some sort of proto doom with a lot of psychedelic, hard rock and progressive rock influences. While on paper, this sounds like a dream to me, I wasn’t super crazy about them. I’d rather go back to Quicksand Dream or Realmbuilder.

The self titled full length starts with two ten minutes tracks and they’re both too long for nothing. I usually like long songs but those two bored me real quickly. The three other songs are shorter, all around seven minutes. “Girl from the Fen” right in the middle of the album is a soporific ballad but the two other more metal tracks don’t really go anywhere either for me. As much as I like Geddy, Ozzy or Terry, Dave Gilbert’s vocals aren’t for me and I don’t like the fuzzy effects on ‘em, probably there to hide the fact they’re not good at all. With that said, I quite like the guitar tone and would have liked to life the riffs and songs more. There’s some good moments here and there but they’re a bit too few for my liking. I might applaud how well they mix the different genres though, that's not really the problem I have with them. Just found the album mostly boring, you know. To conclude, I’m sad I didn’t enjoy this. Semi epic doom/prog about the Middle ages with a name like Trebuchet? Maybe my expectations were too high.

Legacies Unchain – Satan is Strong and Always Near (2016) / 95%

"Is he though?"
"Yes, he is."

Composed of the sole member of the excellent Misantropical Painforest and another dude known for Wormphlegm and its funeral doom classic, Legacies Unchain is definitely my discovery of the year (or last year, no idea, time is blurry right now) and I’m thankful for Hops from the Ride Into Glory community for the recommendation. Their take on metal is one that speaks to me quite a bit, it’s occult, slow and lures you in the dark Finnish forest to sever your arms with a hand axe.

Satan is Strong and Always Near (one of the best album titles of all time) is pretty much only three extended tracks with its title track being a bit more than twenty minutes. There’s three untitled instrumental including two to start the album, for some dark magical reasons, they’re not on the tracklist! The first and third are some guitar doodling moments that puts you in the mood. The second is one minute of shamanic aboriginal music preparing you for some ritualistic black metal, it’s not randomly placed either as there’s comebacks to this sort of primitive atmosphere throughout the album. The use of the didgeridoo, this cool wind instrument from pre-colonial Australia highlights the barbaric, primal feel of Legacies Unchain and it can be found alongside your normal metal instruments in “All Hail the Great Sperm” (what?) or “Dragon City”. The instrument announces the arrival of those two dudes on the artwork as they’re storming the camp full of goblins in order to slay ‘em all. In the name of Satan, of course.

The whole thing sounds like a do it yourself barbaric black metal assault to me and I mean, I really love this kind of stuff. Apparently recorded in 2004 but only released more than a decade later, their kind of metal is pretty timeless. It’s mixing the raw occult power of black metal with the stupidity of heavy metal and the brain dead riff onslaught of death metal for our selfish pleasure. It’s a riff worship ceremony and the unworthy ones were sacrificed to some primordial spirits. The duo is able to write interesting, river-esque songs with only the power of powerful metal riffs and Satan. Spiritually linked to black/heavy bands like Demontage or Malokarpatan, Legacies Unchain slashes you with mid-paced riffs until you’re out blood to offer. They use those traditional elements well such as on the title track, it’s like if funeral doom was combined with black/heavy/thrash, it’s long but epic and flows nicely and it’s 100% hateful, obviously.

Their vocals are also pretty diverse in their commitment to barbaric prowess. To high pitched screams to more deep growls and to some insane chanting, there’s something for everyone. The title track concludes its twenty-three minute run time with a mad clean scream, probably a shamanic priest dying during a ritual or something. Those guys like their crushing brutality too, the death metal influence can be felt at the beginning of “...Sperm” while “Dragon City” is rooted and drenched in heavy metal riffs. Their vocals are a constant though and they anchor the band into Satanic overload.

Satan being always near them managed to motivate the guys, this is one hell of album. Even though it’s somewhat inaccessible due to the sheer length of its songs, there’s an entrancing vibe that rewards you. It’s similar to Cultes des Ghoules’ masterwork Henbane (the pinnacle of black metal as far as I’m concerned) in how it makes me feel, it’s riffs after riffs and you may think it’s dumbed down but it’s actually oddly subtle and genius.

White Magician/Prelude to Ruin – 2018 split / 93%

 

Uncut Gems

The fact that Demon Bitch and Borrowed Time (rest in peace) are assuredly the best American heavy metal bands of their era is a secret that more people should know. White Magician released one of the best albums of 2020 and their buddies of Prelude to Ruin are planning a release for 2021 (if my insider information is to be trusted) and both of those projects are related to the aforementioned bands. They happened to have released a split album back in 2018 and it’s pure fire. You shouldn’t expect otherwise if you were familiar with the people behind those bands.

White Magician is the entire Demon Bitch lineup except Brian, their bassist. Some of them play a different role here though, like Logon who plays bass or Derek who’s also tasked with the lead vocals in addition to his guitar task. While Demon Bitch play a super unhinged and insane sort of heavy metal, their other project leans more on pure traditionalism and is more Blue Öyster Cult than Mercyful Fate. One of things that I always like about the way those Detroit fellas write songs is that it’s completely devoid of posturing or attempts at mimicking the greats. It’s like if it was written in space with the distant memories of the bands they liked when they were still on Earth like the rest of us. Their ten minutes side starts with The Great Kaiser’s White Magician, an allegedly different entity, doing a two minutes introduction. It’s a high pitched guitar lead repeated alongside the name of the project and it’s, I have no idea why, fantastic. The bulk of their split side is obviously the track “Antipathy”, originally recorded in 2017 but re-recorded here. It’s a multidimensional epic showcasing everything the band can do. From the soft, almost 1970s Rush introduction to the agile, always pertinent riffs, the song is like a crescendo towards joyfully exuberant guitar leads concluding its eight minutes run-time. Like Demon Bitch, their guitar leads are great and always well placed and needed. They’re like icy daggers entering softly but firmly your body.

Their debut full length“ Dealers of Divinity” leaned even more into hard rock but the foundations were built before as White Magician are really great at crossing the line between rock and metal several times per song. While, without a doubt, they’re a metal band, they don’t burden themselves too much with that fact. The vocals are well thought out, melodic and powerful in their own ways. They don’t really strike me as metal vocals, the way they’re written is but the delivery is subdued, subtle and very interesting. Antipathy is an outstanding track, it’s as strong as anything they’ve released so far.

Prelude to Ruin is the new (or old) project formed by the Ruiz brothers who were both in Borrowed Time. I’m not totally sure who’s on this release except Victor and David Ruiz but nowadays, they’re joined by guitarist Matt Preston (Borrowed Time, Dungeon Beast, The Swill…) and other members of Borrowed Time, Demon Bitch/White Magician. It’s an incestuous family but… for the right reasons!

We’re served two relatively fast paced numbers with strong melodies and blistering guitar riffs. More rooted in power and even speedier metal than Borrowed Time were, there’s an almost epic power metal feel throughout the first song “Weird of the White Wolf”. They’re in that zone where USPM meets European power metal. Where the robust riffs of Liege Lord would hangout with the pre-symphonic ballsy power metal of Blind Guardian. Prelude to Ruin are the kind of band that heavy metal guitars fans want to hear. Their leads are oozing with skills, passion and thundering might. They’re the clear highlight of their identity even though the rest is also super solid.

While Jean-Pierre Abboud (vocals in Borrowed Time) is gone and there’s a small drop in talent on the mic, it’s still pretty damn dynamic and enjoyable. Speaking of J-P, I’ve never liked him as much as I did when he played with those guys, Traveler and Gatekeeper never used his skills as well. I think that’s also a proof that the Ruiz bros are hella good composers. The second song “One More Fight” has shrill, weird vox in its beginning to surprising but effective effects and overall, the high-pitched vocals work well with the speed demonstrated here. Unfortunately, the production is a bit too lo-fi and muffled for those two songs to truly truly shine and hopefully, this will be fixed for their upcoming material.

Overall this split release has two very strong sides with two bands clearly in possession of immense heavy metal skills. They’re two of the brightest gems the US metal underground produced, don’t sleep on ‘em.

White Magician's Bandcamp

Prelude to Ruin's Bandcamp

Lords of Quarmall – Iron Exile (2021) / 82%

Lord of Washington

Reuben Storey has been busy since the death of both Christian Mistress and Quayde LaHue. The multi-instrumentalist released some demos as Yronoxit and Horrible last year but that Lords of Quarmall EP is his first contribution to 2021 but surely not his last. The band name is straight up out of classic sword & sorcery (Fritz Leiber, to be more precise) and the subject of that review.

I know y’all probably haven’t heard Yronoxit (do so now) but I’ll compare the two a little. They’re both weird heavy metal but they’re coming from two different places. Yronoxit was a spooky, Mercyful Fate-ish project with influences from experimental heavy metal (see Krypt Axeripper) and an unusual vocal delivery. On the other hand, Lords of Quarmall is heavier, faster and incorporates a fair load of Slough Feg bits. If you’ve been living under a rock, The Lord Weird Slough Feg are the best American heavy metal band of the past 25 years. Iron Exile reminds me of some of the strongest Feg material from Down Among the Deadmen to Hardworlder. The album introduction “Inopia Scriptorum” also gave me a lot of old Rush vibes and those are always welcomed.

Four of the six tracks are pretty short (under two minutes) and most of them are instrumentals. They surround the two more substantial numbers, the mid paced “The Prophet’s Mirror” and the fast epic closer “Megapolisomancy” (been trying to pronounce that title all day) and I mean, it’s a good fit.

The main strength of the project is the riffs, they’re super good, all of them. The drums are intense, especially in that unpronounceable aforementioned track, they're bordering the death/thrash territories on that song. There's blastbeats while there's some subtle synths in the background, it gives us some sort of cosmic sword & sorcery big dick energy mood. Vocals wise, Reuben sounds like an unhinged Lemmy. A big barbarian with a massive sword influence, ya know.

Surely that's not the most original stuff released in 2021 but it never aimed to be. I do feel there's enough idiosyncratic elements here though. It's more accessible than Yronoxit and doesn't sound like it was made in a vacuum where the idea of what heavy metal sounds like is a distant souvenir. It's raw, intriguing, arcane traditional metal with galloping riffs and a powerful energy.

Available here - The old school way

Wytch Hazel – III: Pentecost / 95%

 

Humble and heavy

Wytch Hazel from Lancaster, England makes me want to start going to church for one of the first time since christmas 1995. I argued that I wanted to stay home to build the Lego pirate ship I got but my grand-mother insisted. I only did my catholic confirmation because it was expected of me and I got a shitload of Star Wars episode I toys but damn, those boys almost make me wish I still had faith. I’ve never liked preachy religious metal and mostly stayed away from anything Christian metal related but there’s something special with Wytch Hazel. I also rarely like happy stuff so that’s like two strikes against them already. Turns out they’re one of the best bands in the world right now.

I’ve been a big fan since their second album, the aptly titled II: Sojourn, an album I’d easily place in my top twenty of the last decade. It’s just astounding that their third album is at least just as good. They succeed at continuing their signature sound but with a few tweaks that makes this album a pure banger. Their blend of NWOBHM inspired heavy metal, heartfelt English folk rock, hard rock and pop is just so catchy and memorable, it hurts. They’re able to put Jethro Tull, Deep Purple, UFO, Fairport Convention and Judas Priest in the same meatpie and make it taste wonderfully by adding their own spices. Maybe they found the dried remains of Jesus and they’ve been sniffing that since 2011? Their main strength is how they’re so good at grabbing you while never letting you go, their songs are almost aggressive in the way they reel you in and writing such efficient earworms isn’t easy. One of the complaints people had concerning Sojourn was that the album had too many ballads (I didn’t mind much) but it’s not the same here. The album is tight and flows nicely and only has “The Crown” with its beautiful acoustic guitars as its true ballad. With that said, there's soft, romantic moments scattered throughout the album such as on “Reap the Harvest” with its “death is comiiiiiing” (appropriate for our current plague) chorus or the instrumental beauty of the interlude “Sonata”. It’s a forty-ish minutes album but it’s one you’ll replay until you sing their simple but potent lyrics all day long.

Pentecost also showcases their best and heaviest production to date. The guitars are heavier than on their sophomore too, they increased the heavy metalness in their sound to great results. There’s some dope solos like on “Spirit and Fire”. It’s played big, it’s entertaining and just fiery. Colin Hendra has a distinctive voice and he’s not pushing it too much, it’s quintessential English and there’s not a bad vocal line on the whole album. Wytch Hazel are great musicians who could easily overplay and enter progressive territories but they keep things subtle but grandiose, that’s probably their biggest strength. They have the ability to restrain themselves while at the same time going all out. Still, it was nice to hear some mellotrons here and there (“I Am Redeemed”), it gave the band a fuller sound.

A song like “I Will Not” (perhaps my favourite on the album) is immediate and outstanding while the album wastes no time and gives us the riffs right when “He is the Fight” starts. The band gives us a few moments to breathe but ultimately, it’s a full experience without any faults and failures.

Even if I’ve always been somewhat uncomfortable with their Christian themes, they use them with such panache that I now have no problems with the band. I think it helps that it’s rooted in medieval themes, it feels antiquated in a good way and doesn’t remind me of the woes religions caused and are causing today. It’s an album full of feelsy melodies and it’s great for the time we’re in right now. It’s humble, hardworkin’ and just plain excellent.

Bandcamp

Valkyrie - Fear (2020) / 87%

Time Flies but What Remains?

The Adams brothers are back with a new Valkyrie album five years after the excellent Shadows and it’s perfect for those sunny weekends where you do nothing except drink beer and chill on the patio. Just like today, actually. This summer is blurry, time flies, it feels like March was last week but metal and beer is always there to keep me grounded and entertained. Good news since their songwriting is both laid back and engaging, crafting entrancing nuggets of good feelings.

With Valkyrie, you get the twin lead guitar harmonies of Peter and Jake Adams, those guys are emotional masters. They’re able to convey so much with their instruments, it’s almost unreal. Peter is of course known for his time in Baroness (he played on Blue Record and Purple, two of my favourites) and Valkyrie certainly navigates similar areas in their sometimes perilous travels. You’re getting the same sort of fluid, idiosyncratic leads that he was known for during his years with the famous Virginian band. That style of particular guitar player makes Fear such an airy album, it also ends on such a note with the ghastly instrumental conclusion “Exasperator”.The rhythm section is also fantastic, the bass is thick and never overshadowed too much by the riffs and the drums is inventive and melodic in an odd but technical way. The vocals are also immensely powerful for me(the highlight would be “Fear and Sacrifice”), for a dude who’s more of a guitarist, it’s well done. While sporadic, they’re clean, soulful and gives another heavy rock layer to the album. Those guys don’t need a powerhouse singer, they’re not arena rock, they’re in fact the opposite. It’s heartfelt, concise while elaborate metallic rock done by dudes in full control of their instruments and direction.

They’ve always been a band that’s been blurring the thin lines between classic, hard rock and heavy/doom and while it’s still the case on that 2020 record, it’s a different beast than it was on records such as Man of Two Visions from 2008 or their self titled debut from 2006. Their essence is retained but Fear is a more subdued version, it’s calmer and less tempestuous. Nevertheless, their urgency and relatively fast tempos are still intact.

Valkyrie’s past (and sometimes actual) approach could be described similarly to Slough Feg in a way as they also include their fair share of proto metal (read Thin Lizzy) alongside NWOBHM (dual lead guitars for the win) but of course, they love Sabbath and American doom (read The Obsessed) and stoner metal (past comparisons to The Sword were appropriate, not so much now) quite a bit too. Fear brings a newfound progressive tinge and it’s very pleasing. Firmly evolving in the proto rock/metal niche, I do feel they served their material with a modern sauce. A compact sauce that’s never too salty or sugary. For me, modernity means the ability to really work on the production to make it sound tight and dreamy at the same time. It’s taking (possibly) dated sounds to make them sound contemporary and robust.

On their second album for Relapse Records, the veterans were able to evolve and offer us something different while still retaining their roots. It’s high quality atmospheric heavy rock that’s still inclined to give doom metal a chance.

Lüger– Cosmic Horrör (2020) / 85%

Leather in Space

The dangerous Montréal quartet is back with a four track extended play and it’s pure fire. I liked their 2018 opus (the Realm reviewed it) quite a bit but Cosmic Horrör (the umlauts are important, of course) sees the band improve and push their sound to the next echelon. They’re a pretty unique beast in the Montréal metal scene with their apocalyptic blend of influences and I’m stoked to see them on stage again whenever it will be possible.

“Space Coma” opens the record with blistering drums and features insane guitar solos with a melodic psych rock edge. It’s an effortless mix with their bass heavy approach to Motorized and Pentagrammed heavy metal. Jim Laflamme’s semi-harsh, tough vocals are emphasized by being judiciously but sporadically used (they only appear midway through “Call of the Snaggletooth”) and they feed the riffs perfectly.

The opener of side B appropriately named “Psychotropia” could have been twenty minutes as far as I’m concerned. It starts with an extended spacey intro that wouldn’t be out of place on a Ufomammut album before descending in their usual airy but demented riff heavy affair. It’s like driving a Martian bulldozer that’s been fueled with acid.

There’s a lot of stuff in Lüger’s cosmic Harley Davidson’s leather pouches but it’s so adequately condensed in one potent formula that’s both original in its dated but timeless recipe. Incorporating more than just heavy metal, doom metal or hard rock, the boys also feed their machine with adequate doses of punk, thrash, space rock or even hints of black smoke here and there. It’s raw but it sounds like a wall of brick that’s been built by master builders who look like deviant bad boys based on what your boomer aunt thinks. Even if there's a sense of familiarity to their music, it's exciting and enticing enough to be a fucking good record.

They’re the type of bands that are able to develop an image that becomes deeply tied to their sound. Leather, shades, tattoos, wearing vests while being shirtless etc. All bands have an image, the ones who say that they don’t have are the same ones who will gladly tell everyone that “they’re one a political band”. The important is to craft a solid and interesting look that will instantly embody the music you play. Well, Lüger plays rocky, punky sexy metal exploring the vastness and deserted confines of space and they look the part. The old school video game look of the artwork also does a great job at describing their sound. Undead evil knight? Space Castle? Yes, you betcha.


Bandcamp

Yronoxit – Of World of Nightmare (2020) / 78%

??????????????????

The solo project of American musician Reuben Storey known for his contributions to both Christian Mistress (drums) and Quayde LaHüe (bass), Yronoxit (great yet confusing name) released two extended plays during the quarantined month of April 2020. Of World of Nightmare is the first one and damn, it feels like it’s heavy metal from a parallel universe.

The title track opens with some spooky effects and B horror movie evil grinning before we get some King Diamond-ish laughter and some oddly catchy riffs. The vocals of Storey are pretty particular, midway through whiny vampire and evil sorcerer. I love voluntarily bad vocals in trad metal so I’m totally on board with his approach, he sounds he’s gonna fight adventurers with bad effects similar to those from the 90s series of The Adventures of Sinbad on the intentionally mispelled “Draqula” with its thunderous yet silly guitar lead.

I’m perhaps on my own here but I think this sounds like the true metal madness that Jussi Lehtisalo created on Krypt Axeripper, Motorspandex or Tractor Pulling (the Realm has covered those in the past) as it’s idiosyncratic heavy metal played with a familiar approach in mind. If you’re not familiar, I highly recommend ‘em. It’s also a good argument when you’re arguing that Finland is weird.

The three four-ish minutes tracks have slow but intense riffs, it’s evocative heavy metal without pretentiousness, trendiness and unnecessary technicality. It’s pretty lo-fi and has this DIY aesthetic I dig a lot. “They Wear the Shroud” has memorable bass lines and sounds like Powerslave worship made in a strange world where everyone speaks like they inhaled helium through a defibrillator.

Quite different from his main projects, Yronoxit is peculiar without the need to rely on modern avant-garde elements and that’s something hard to accomplish nowadays.

Bandcamp

Acerus – The Tertiary Rite (2020) / 89%

Potent Metal Assimilation

Daniel Corchado is one of metal’s finest gems. The Mexican native can’t literally do no wrong (okay, I haven’t heard his ambient doom project Magnum Itiner Interius but I’m sure it’s decent) and Acerus’ newest album simply proves that he hasn’t lost any of his mightiness.

Before you continue reading that review, I need to ask you some questions. 1) do you like riffs? 2) If yes, do you like heavy riffs? 3) do you prefer those heavy riffs to be excellent? If you answered “yes” to all questions, you can now proceed. The gates are opened. The posers were kicked out from the temple of good metal taste.

Acerus’ first album since 2016 The Clock of Mortality is a barrage of condensed fiery metal with a compressed plethora of influences infused into one potent expansive but tight record. Combining intricate odds to progressive metal, epic metal and even thrash or death metal, the album has this mythological feel somewhat akin in spirit more than sound to what Symphony X did at the peak of their career (Divine Wings of Tragedy, The Odyssey or V: The New Mythology Suite). There’s this definite aura of Greek and Roman historical as far as themes go. I’m a big fan of that stuff (see Primordial’s To the Nameless Dead or Macabre Omen) and it’s nice to see those topics being explored in this hybrid style Acerus plays.

The riffs and leads of Corchado and his younger spire Ed Escamilla (from thrashers Reign) are what drives this album. From the slow mournful ones of “The Sinister Sea” and its odd epic doom overture to the blackened feel of “The Fight with Destiny” or the power/thrash might of “The Immersion”, it’s a varied album in terms of riff origin but not so much in terms of moods. It’s fairly samey without repetitive. The eight songs are getting a bit blurry with each-others but I think this helps create a sense of unity for the album and I always prefer that over individual songs. The clean but vigorous vocals of newcomer of Esteban Julian Pena are pretty legit, he has good pipes and adds to the heavy/power atmosphere of The Tertiary Rite. I do think he gets outshined by the true power of the riffs at times though but he adds a Greek epic metal flair to the album.

Their metal sound is quite unique, it never fully goes into progressive metal territories and explores a bunch of other disparate sonic islands. You can hear that Corchado is a metal connoisseur and a veteran as his influences are fully assimilated and integrated within his compositions. It’s distinctive without being overly over the top or weird. It’s for sure one of the finest albums released in 2020.

Bandcamp

Aktor - Placebo (2020) / 83%

NWOFHM #14: Yummy Pills

Contextualization:
NWOFHM is a term coined by Jussi Lehtisalo, the leader of the psych/experimental rock bands Circle and Pharaoh Overlord. It’s to pay homage to the NWOBHM term while namedropping his country, Finland.

Lehtisalo created a bunch of projects to create that self sufficient scene. Those include Motorspandex, Krypt Axeripper, Tractor Pulling which all released only one recording but also projects like Steel Mammoth or Arkhamin Kirjasto that have a more extensive discography. All those aforementioned bands were covered by yours truly and the NWOFHM review series is never quite dead.

Chris Black and Jussi Lehtisalo seems to be an odd pairing but they’re two really odd musicians so it just seemed natural. The American is of course famous for High Spirits, Dawnbringer, Pharoah (not overlord) and a plethora of other stuff while Lehtisalo does everything imaginable musically. I really loved Aktor’s debut single released back in 2013 (NWOFHM #6 actually) but I didn’t give their debut full length Paranoia enough spins to truly enjoy it. Looking back, I think it was released during my last year of university and I was perhaps too busy to care... It’s 2020 now and I’m not busy enough right now as it’s the pandemic and I’m stuck alone at home wearing a kimono with birds on it while my cat constantly complains about life. I was ready to rediscover the weirdness of Aktor.

Aktor are weird in a way that’s both familiar and iconoclastic. Mixing hard hittin’ heavy/hard rock riffs with a huge backdrop of 1980s pop influences ranging from new wave to electronica, they sound timeless but created in a vacuum where many musical styles from different eras coexist during the same era. Combine the attractive and catchy riffs of Blue Öyster Cult but played heavier with a large dosage of The Cars or Devo and perhaps many eras of Rush melted together and you’re somewhat near their sound.

It could also be a Judas Priest mid 80s album made by aliens who actually had no idea what to do and were told to add keyboards and David Bowie influences by an elder brain on antidepressant pills.

From another sea
In another symphony
It's all the same eternity
On another night
Underneath an endless sky
Until we meet the ghost of time

In a sense, it really is a mix of Black and Lehtisalo. Black is as intense and catchy as he is on High Spirits but sings about weirder shit. I’ve heard people call him an acquired taste and I guess I can hear why but I always liked his nonchalant but charismatic delivery. He’s combined with the weird riffs of Lehtisalo, the Finn veteran has a wide arsenal at his disposal and I liked how he alternates between super heavy metal riffs and some approachable rock ones. The compositions are often pretty fast (like opener “Bad Mirror”) and even when they’re mid-paced, they’re dynamic and full sounding. After some numerous spins, I’ve noticed how good the bass is on this record (check “Get Me Outta Here”), it’s not too loud and is in the background often but it highlights the grooves found on Placebo very well. I'd say the fight between the raw guitars and the spacey synths is the real highlight of the record though.

Aktor aren’t for everyone as it’s something I’ll dare call experimental heavy metal but I’ve been exploring Jussi Lehtisalo’s bizarre metal offerings for close to a decade now and it always speaks to me. I hope it could speak to y’all too.

Christian Mistress – To Your Death (2015) / 95%

Subtle Heavy Metal Escapism

Traditional heavy metal is not the simplest music style to play. Far from it, in fact. It takes a lot of heart to create some everlasting and outstanding music in a style that has been one of the basis of the whole metal genre for over forty years. As a benchmark example, Iron Maiden’s self titled debut just turned forty years old this week and it still shines bright due to its timeless quality. Furthermore, I do think that it takes a lot of knowledge to craft something worthwhile in that ageless genre too. A quasi encyclopedic knowledge of all the twists and turns of heavy metal is often required to be able to distinguish itself from the hungry pack. The best heavy metal bands are sometimes savants wearing arcane tomes on their patched vests but their influences don’t just remain on their sleeves. They’re being fully digested till they’re excreted into far from feckless matter.

America has a few of those bands capable to be pack leaders but in my eyes, the best ones are the tranquil types. They’re people who could care less about notoriety, personal fame and the likes. Bands such as Magic Circle, Demon Bitch and yes, Christian Mistress. To me, the West Coast band is one of the most important modern American heavy metal bands. Now on hold, three-fifths of the band is now involved in the excellent and oddly named Quayde LaHüe. Except for the fact that both bands are lead by powerful women and both play heavy metal, they’re pretty dissimilar in both their approach and established sonority. Quayde LaHüe are more into pure hard rock and are a bit more conventional. On the other hand, Christian Mistress are one of the few idiosyncratic bands playing a traditional take on metal. They have enough peculiarities and personalized details to stand their own against anyone. On their hopefully temporary swansong, the quintet was truly let loose.

Surely, you can immediately hear a few bands such as the best of the best from NWOBHM such as Angel Witch, the aforementioned Maiden or Judas Priest but there’s a lot of pure Americana in their sound. Their songs are about the great outdoors, the vast roads of North America, liberty or freedom that comes with emancipation or even death and those are themes easily associated with the United States. Heavy metal is rarely a subtle affair, it usually demands high energy and robust and daring instrumentation and while it’s certainly the case here. It’s permanently gutsy but there’s an irrevocable distinctive charm with Christian Mistress, there’s some hidden mysteries in their music and it takes several spins to uncover them. There’s more than meets the eye with them. It reminds me of, I don’t know, Bruce Springsteen hanging out with ZZ Top and Joan Jett who suddenly discovered Slough Feg and Diamond Head. There’s a lot of spirit and a puzzling but captivating blend of influences in their music.

The vocals of lead vocalist Christine Davis are phenomenal to me, she sounds honest but unhinged and there’s a warmth power to her blunt clean method. She sounds pissed off but at the same time, she invites you to follow her in her misanthropic call for freedom. Davis sounds like an enchantress in “Lone Wild”, there’s uncompromising power in her performance. She’ll bewitch you, for damn sure. Alongside Annick Giroux (Cauchemar), Elizabeth Davis (Castle), Mandy Martillo (Satan’s Hallow, Midnight Dice) or Stacey Peak (Savage Master), she embodies the power of women in today’s heavy metal and does it with grace and valor.

The guitars of Tim Diedrich and Oscar Sparbel (not a German band by the way) are tight and recalls the mightiness of the Murray/Smith seminal duo. A traditional metal band is only as good as its riffs and leads and there’s plenty of great ones to find here. The second track “Stronger Than Blood” has plenty to like. I prefer my heavy metal to be rather slow and chunky and that’s what Christian Mistress mostly plays. They’re also pretty damn excellent at being faster and to the point on tracks such as “Open Road” of the bonus and title track “TYD”. I like when riffs have the time to breathe and let the vocals come out beautifully. There’s a great cohesion in their songwriting and the compromises between everyone involved is apparent. The drums of Reuben Storey are bread and butter and the bass of Johnny Wulf is high enough in the mix to be one of the highlights at time (wonderful in the epic “Ultimate Freedom”)

They’re not the sort of band that will astonish you with their musicianship for the sake of it. I mean, they definitely have skills and that’s undeniable but they’re songwriters through and through. Their heavy metal is deliberately blurring the line between distinguished and raw. it’s smart, unique and has a lot of complexity hidden under layers of simplicity. They're mature musicians and most of their songs are compact five to six minutes compositions and they offer a wide variety of moods from escapism to exquisite ass kicking.

To Your Death, just like their previous two albums, explores humanity through its emotions with talent and conviction. Christian Mistress belongs to no scenes, they never surfed on trends. They’re the leaders of their own wolf pack and I hope that they’ll be back. This band and this album defines what I like in modern heavy metal. A focus on raw songwriting with strong influences but also an original re-reading of the past with a timeless attitude.



Christian Mistress on Bandcamp

********************************************

In this pandemic period of our lives where we stay at home and all the gigs are either cancelled or reported, I had a burst of nostalgia for when I saw Christian Mistress play the third edition of the extremely good Wings of Metal festival (rest in peace) here in Montréal.

Christian Mistress wasn’t originally on the lineup but when Evil Spirit from Germany cancelled their appearance, they were booked to replace them. I remember being really excited when Annick Giroux, the curator of the fest, told me the news. This seems like it was yesterday. Seeing metal gigs at the now permanently closed Katacombes. Life is ever-changing.

Ranking the Beast! Iron Maiden //// 1980 to 2015! ////

Maiden's classic lineup. From left to right: Bruce Dickinson, Dave Murray, Nicko McBrain, Adrian Smith & Steve Harris.

I'm home, alone and bored so I decided to rank Iron Maiden's entire studio discography while blasting their albums all day. Follow me into Maiden's world...but at a respectable distance, please...

16. Virtual XI (1998)

I do think this is the truly only bad Iron Maiden record. The shorter songs are lame and the longer ones like The Clansman and The Angel and the Gambler in particular are the most repetitive numbers they ever did. Both soporific Harris tracks that repeat the same lyrics ad nauseam like “Don’t you think I’m a saviour/Don’t you think I could save you/Don’t you think I could save your life...” till you die or boredom.

Blaze Bayley is the Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels) of this whole affair. While not entirely blameless as his performance is underwhelming, I see him more as a victim of the bad songwriting of band leader Steve Harris. There’s some good riffs and leads from Murray and Gers here and there but not enough redeeming factors to make this a decent album. It’s the only Iron Maiden album I don’t know own, I’ll probably buy it one day for the sake of completion only...

Favourite track: Uhh? I don't know, man.

15. No Prayer for the Dying (1990)

The Maiden album that was released the year I appeared in this world isn’t totally worthless at all despite some of what people say. After Adrian Smith’s departure and Janick Gers’ arrival, Harris and company went in a more streamlined and hard rock-esque direction. Judging with Bruce Dickinson’s facial expressions in the promo pictures, not everyone were happy with that decision. While not a particularly intriguing, original or memorable album, there’s some good moments such as Harris’ “The Assassin” and “Mother Russia” and the epic “Bring Your Daughter...To the Slaughter” which was originally a Dickinson track for one of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies. Compared to Fear of the Dark, No Prayer for the Dying is a more direct album but it doesn’t have the same quality in its songwriting. This would had been a forgotten album if would had been released by anyone else than Maiden.

Favourite track: "Mother Russia"

14. The X Factor (1995)

The first album with Blaze Bayley turned out to be the only decent one he’ll do with the band during his short tenure as Maiden’s singer. The X Factor (X since it’s their tenth record) is a dark album with some brilliant songwriting such as “Sign of the Cross” or “The Aftermath” but ultimately it’s a cluttered and overlong album.

It’s also hard to retain yourself from wishing that Bruce Dickinson should had been there despite Bayley’s more than competent performance. I also always liked Janick Gers as a composer. He brings subtlety and intelligence to the band and always did.

As Iron Maiden’s first seventy minute release, it’s the album that started that trend of wanting to put too much on their records. Nonetheless, it’s still much better than its shorter brother.

Favourite track: "Sign of the Cross"

13. The Final Frontier (2010)

The Final Frontier is their most uneven modern album. It’s overlong with its seventy-six minutes rundown and it’s hardly justified. It’s saved by some quality songwriting such as the quick “The Alchemist” or the excellent epics “Starblind” and “The Talisman” but weaker moments like the Harris-penned snoozefest closer “When the Wild Blows” makes this the weaker Maiden since they’re active as a sextet. 

Still, I have fond memories of that album as I saw them for the first in 2010 when the record was about to be released. They only played El Dorado and focused more on Brave New World and Dance of Death alongside a plethora of classics.

Favourite track: "The Talisman"

12. The Book of Souls (2015)

The latest Maiden release is the only one I actually reviewed in details so go read the full thing here. Despite some grandiose moments, it’s the weakest of their last five albums that came after Bruce’s comeback. The double album is overlong (that’s redundant to write) and shows the band not caring about editing their thoughts at all.

The album could had been pretty strong with only its four longest tracks (Dickinson’s “If Eternity Should Fail’ and “Empire of the Clouds”, its title track and one of the best Harris epics “The Red and the Black”), this would had been a great fifty minutes record but alas!

The shorter tracks are mostly forgettable (some are pretty good like “Man of Sorrows” though) and don’t add much to Maiden’s discography so it’s not as strong as it could have been. Old man Bruce sounds really great on this record too.



Favourite tracks: "If Eternity Should Fail" and "The Red and the Black"

11. Fear of the Dark (1992)
Like James Bond’s GoldenEye, this is the only truly good Maiden album released during the 1990s. While I always thought this had spectacular songs, I also found the album to be cluttered by fillers. My opinion changed a bit recently as I started to like tracks such as “Childhood’s End” that I didn’t really dig before. I still wish the album was tighter and some songs such as the clunky rocker “Weekend Warrior” could had been removed to put it in the 45-50 minutes ballpark.

The Dickinson/Gers duo shines in the songwriting department with the outstanding rapid fire opener “Be Quick or Be Dead” and one of Maiden’s only ballad “Wasting Love”. While the singalong title track is almost as overplayed as “Hallowed be Thy Name”, it’s still pretty damn good. There’s a kind of intricacy that the band will develop further when Bruce will come back but at that time, it was to be the swansong of the air raid siren as he left Maiden to focus on his solo career.

Favourite track: "Wasting Love"

10) The Number of the Beast (1982)

One of the seminal Maiden albums and the first with Bruce after Paul Dianno’s departure suffers immensely from its success. Its best tracks such as the title track but particularly “Hallowed Be Thy Name” and the catchy “Run to the Hills” are overplayed songs that I can’t really listen anymore. Combined with the fact that the album has noticeable fillers such as “Invaders”, “Gangland” or the b-side added to the 1998 remaster (which is the version I heard the most as a thirty year old dude) “Total Eclipse”, Number is simply an overrated album and Maiden’s weakest of their superb 1980s run. The power of some of its tracks is undeniable live though, especially “Hallowed...”.

Favourite track: "Children of the Damned" (nowadays)

9) Piece of Mind (1983)
The second album with Bruce Dickinson is a mixed affair. On one hand, it has two of their best 80s track with “Where Eagles Dare”, “Flight of Icarus” and the massive hit “The Trooper” but on the other hand, there’s “Die With Your Boots On”, “Quest For Fire” or “Sun and Steel”, some of their weakest ones. I’m a big fan of the Dune epic “To Tame a Land” though and I wish they’d play it live during their modern era. Maybe with Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming Dune movie, they will? In the end, Piece of Mind turned out to be an unequal and transitional album for the quintet before the golden trilogy that followed it.

Favourite track: "To Tame a Land"

Maiden's lineup after Adrian Smith's departure in 1989. Janick Gers is between McBrain and Harris.

8) A Matter of Life and Death (2006)

Released a week before I started my last year of high school, AMOLAD definitely has a special place in my heart but it also has some super strong songwriting. Outside of the quick opener “Different World” which is quite ordinary, I like all the songs here but especially the jewels “Brighter than a Thousand Suns”, “For the Greater Good of God” and “The Legacy”. All those tracks are around eight and nine minutes and are some of the finest “progressive” writing the band ever did.

The biggest downfall of the album is the fact it wasn’t mastered on purpose to give it a “live” feel. While I can understand that decision, it just makes the album feel unfinished. That and the fact the middle of the album is somewhat weak is why I can’t rank it over its two predecessors. I remember playing that album for my dad in the car and he said something like “that dude definitely sounds great for his age” and he does. Bruce forever.

Favourite track: "For the Greater Good of God"







7) Killers (1981)

The last record to feature Paul Di’anno always felt like a weaker brother to the self titled debut. It’s a very good record but some of the rockier influences lose me a bit. It does mark the arrival of Maiden’s best guitarist in Adrian Smith though! It’s an aggressive album and I think it lacks nuance compared to both its predecessor and the other 1980s albums. It compensates with a ballsy semi punk attitude and strong straightforward compositions. It's still a classic moment in NWOBHM but the best was to come.

Favourite tracks: “Genghis Khan” and “Killers”

6) Brave New World (2000)

The triumphant return of both Bruce and Adrian led to a return to form in the year 2000. It’s crazy to think that it’s already two decades ago... Brave New World is an expansive album full of twists and turns and a very dynamic feel. It has some of their more diverse compositions from the sentimental “Blood Brothers” to the ethnic/world music aspects of “The Nomad”, there’s a bit of everything on there.
The album is at its strongest in the middle with “Dreams of Mirrors” and “Fallen Angel” but I was always a bit left on my appetite with the two last numbers (“Out of the Silent Planet” and “The Thin Line Between Love And Hate”), they’re not displeasing but not on the same level as the highs of the album.

Favourite track: “Dream of Mirrors” for his unforgettable chorus.

5) Dance of Death (2003)

The worst thing about Dance of Death is obviously its unfinished artwork left uncredited because Dave Patchett (known for his outstanding work with fellow Brits Cathedral) obviously didn’t want to be known for that atrocious rough computerized draft. The music itself is excellent, it features one of the best mix between shorter heavier tracks such as “Rainmaker” or “Montségur” or longer numbers like “Dance of Death”, “Paschendale” or the gorgeous acoustic and orchestral number “Journeyman”. It has a pretty unique atmosphere too, it's mature heavy metal played by masters of their own peculiar style.

There’s contribution from everyone and it includes drummer Nicko McBrain’s sole songwriting credit with “New Frontier”. The trio of Dickinson/Smith/Harris and the duo of Harris/Gers definitely wrote the best things on there though. This is best Maiden’s best “newer” album even if it’s older than any kids in high school...

Favourite track: “Dance of Death” with its distinguished lead guitars.

Dance of Death booklet band picture

4) Iron Maiden (1980)

The debut of the legends is hella strong. It has some of my favourite Maiden songs and for a 1980 record, it’s really really diverse just like Judas Priest’s Sad Wings of Destiny was four years prior. Maiden’s first epic “Phantom of the Opera” is outstanding, the ballad “Strange World” features Paul Di’anno at his top and the quick tracks like “Prowler”, “Running Free” and the title track are pure heavy metal fun. The instrumental “Transylvania” is also bloody incredible too.

This laid the foundations of the band while being a totally unique album on its own and that’s a rare thing to see in metal.

Favourite song: "Phantom of the Opera"

Iron Maiden in 1980. From left to right, Dave Murray, Clive Burr, Paul Di'anno, Dennis Stratton & Steve Harris.

The Golden Trilogy

3) Somewhere In Time (1986)

Fully embracing synths and sci fi, Somewhere In Time is a tremendous album by a band at the peak of their abilities. It sounds somewhat dated now in 2020 but placed in its historical timeline, it’s an important album in terms of scope and vision. It did a lot for progressive metal as we know it today (see Fates Warning, Shadow Gallery, early Dream Theater...)

It’s an album dominated by the vision of both Adrian Smith and usual main songwriter Steve Harris, they basically shared songwriting duties and both of their sides are great. Apparently, Bruce wanted a more acoustic direction but was overruled by the rest of Maiden. Things would had been different!

To me, this is Maiden’s busiest album, it’s almost exhausting to listen to. Harris’ bass is loud, McBrain is all over the place, there’s a lot of synths but damn, the compositions are compact and tight. At times, this feels like beefed up AOR and it’s wonderful.

Despite Harris’ book report lyrics, “Alexander the Great” is one of those great Maiden epics and only rivalled by “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”.

Favourite song: "Alexander the Great"

Band picture during the Somewhere In Time era

2) Powerslave (1984)


The 2^nd album of Maiden’s classic lineup (Harris, Smith, Murray, McBrain and Dickinson), Powerslave is as gigantic as the pyramid on its artwork. The 1984 classic has some of their best hits in “Aces High” and “2 Minutes to Midnight” and features phenomenal songwriting and musicianship by a band at the top of their abilities. 

Powerslave was the last vanguard of true heavy metal before the apparition of thrash, death and black metal in the 2^nd half of the decade and it has all the required tricks and more. Strong instrumental track: check. A super heavy singalong banger (title track): check. An epic conclusion: check! In fact, “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” was their longest song till the release of The Book of Souls half a decade ago...

Powerslave’s best qualities are its intensity and its epic scope both included in a palpable fifty minutes masterpiece. It's possibly their most influential album as well, you can hear odes and homages to it in both USPM and European heavy/power metal but not many bands come close to it.

Favourite Track: "Powerslave". It has Maiden’s best riff.

The band in 1988

1) Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)

The last 1980s Maiden record and the last to feature to classic lineup, Seventh Son is also my favourite record by the British legends. It’s Maiden at their smartest and most intriguing. Dickinson is full in force after no songwriting credit on SIT and his contributions are pure fire, particularly “Moonchild” written with Smith.

It’s Maiden at their peak at everything. This album has the best vocals, the best sound of their 1980s run and the best compositions. It also has my all-time favourite track from theirs in “The Clairvoyant” and its maddening chorus.

“There's a time to live and a time to die,
when it's time to meet the maker?
There's a time to live but isn't it strange
that as soon as you're born you're dying?”

People shit on the single “Can I Play With Madness” but damn, it’s a catchy pop heavy metal song in an album full of darker, melancholic numbers such as “The Evil That Men Do”. Overall, this is a perfect album and ends the golden age of heavy metal in a spectacular way.

Favourite tracks: “The Clairvoyant” and the occult epicness of the title track

Thank you for reading! Iron Maiden is an important band for every metal fan (or should be!) and it was fun to come back to the basics in this difficult era. Staying home all day while blasting Maiden was definitely an easy but marvelous decision. Y’all should do the same. If I made you listen to one of their records then I'll be happy.

They're a band with distinct and diverse eras and like fellow metal giants Metallica or Judas Priest, they were able to keep a relatively stable throughout their history. The changes that happened shaped the band into what it is. Low points in a career are normal, it's how you rise again that defines the quality of a band. While not everyone shares the appreciation I do for their later albums, Iron Maiden didn't content themselves with mediocre attempts at rewriting the same olde formulas, they tried to push their musicality somewhere and managed to expand their horizons.

They're also still one of the best live bands in the world despite being in their sixties. I'll surely go back to see them when live gigs are gonna be a thing again. You never know when such legends decide to call it quits. I'm still mad I never saw Rush live.

Up the Irons!

-Your quarantined host, Antoine