Wow, has it really been 20 years! Germany came out with some proper metal bands at a time when metal was coming back again. One of the bands that always cropped up for me was epic power metallers Sacred Steel. These war gods of metal have had some pretty damn fine releases over the years, ‘The Bloodshed Summoning’ was a real highlight 3 years ago. Thankfully, they are back with another fine slab of metal that is momentous and handles all the clichés you would expect with real passion.
Vocalist Gerrit has a great range, I would expect him to split opinion, but in this style he commands the term “epic” and “metal”. Whether it’s ‘Hail the Godz of War’ or the most excellent ‘Vulture Priest’, Sacred Steel know how to mix power metal with legends such as Manowar and Iron Maiden. Both from their arrangements, guitar riffs and I suppose form their lyrics. But this feels real, no theatre, no drama, pure pleasure in what they do and they do it well.
There’s nothing out of the box, it’s all good solid arranged music and the numerous opportunities to raise your fist high and sing along is pretty much consistent bar one track. The title track though is one to take note of. Completing the metal assault is ‘Iron Donkey’ which is a complete musical change, more SDI than Sacred Steel, short sweet and a fun way to end another cracking album.
(8/10 Paul Maddison)
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