Soldier were one of those NWOBHM bands that got away, but rather than repeat the story, you will have to buy the CD to read the story as told in the CD booklet! A couple of years ago I caught Soldier at the British Steel Festival in London and I was blown away by their energetic and thoroughly metal performance. With original member Ian Dick on guitar they are backed with the flamboyant guitar talents of Miles Goodman and the phenomenal vocal force of Richard Frost kept in check with consistent timekeeper and drummer Alex Smith and recent newcomer on bass Dave Harrison.
With the recent resurgence and popularity associated with the NWOBHM sound of late it’s good to hear Soldier sticking to their guns and delivering an album that they want, not what is conceived as being required. Tracks like ‘Dogs of War’ and ‘Fireflies’ may have all the hallmarks of NWOBHM riffs matched with a massive amount of melody present. This is something I hold dear, and it’s good to hear such well-crafted metal anthems. I say anthems because with one mere listen you can really get hooked.
There is also a new take on their single ‘Sheralee’, a track written some 30 years ago, but this stands side by side with newer tracks such as the emotive vocals driven ‘I Can’t Breathe’ and ‘Lock N Load’.
Soldier can captivate any listener with this material as it is very mature and muscular. Each note, each movement each guitar lick is rooted in your soul making you an extension of the individual members musical abilities. I am pleased this album rocks as hard, not one of the tracks weakens the strong presentation of ‘Dogs of War’ although I am not too sure about the artwork myself, but it does work with the album theme and to be fair is different from usual metal albums.
This is British metal with melody that is driven into your soul and soul is what this band possesses in bucket loads. Teetering on the edge of NWOBHM, Solider give you a touch more than that catchphrase and if you are lucky to catch these gents live, you will be in for a real treat. As it stands, ‘Dogs of War’ is a giant leap into the pool of classic British metal albums and will cause some major ripples amongst their fan base as well as their peers.
(8/10 Paul Maddison)
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