Written By Kevin McSweeney
Welcome to Seven Deadly Songs, Metal Lair’s weekly feature where we aim to provide the discerning metalhead with a motivational piece of music for each of the seven days ahead. This week, we’ll be looking at some of the best albums to be released in the world of metal between the 21st and 27th of April, and the songs that have us eager for more of the same. We hope they help to take the pain out of returning to school or work after the Easter break.
Ancient Bards – Soulbound Symphony
The Italian symphonic power metal powerhouse Ancient Bards are back with their fifth studio album Artifex, releasedvia Limb Music on April 25th. It’s their first album since 2019’s Origine – The Black Crystal Sword Saga Part 2. The video for Soulbound Symphony dropped on YouTube three months ago, and it whets the appetite perfectly for the album to come. It’s an epic number, full of stirring synths, rolling kick drums, shredding guitars, plaintive violin melodies and a chorus of solid gold. It is always a delight to hear the beautiful soprano vocals of Sara Squadrani, and she delivers a commanding performance on this track. Opera’s loss is metal’s gain, as far as I’m concerned.
Game Over – Lust for Blood
We remain in Italy for our next selection, which comes in the form of thrash metal final bosses Game Over, who return on the 25th of April with their sixth studio album, Face the End, released via Scarlet Records. Lust for Blood is the first single from the album, and it’s straight from the Motörhead blueprint, with palm-muted sixteenth notes chugging away over constant rolling kick drums. The 1980s-style comedy horror video is highly amusing stuff also. As they put it on their demo all the way back in 2009, thrash is back! This can never be a bad thing in my book, and neither can anything that pays tribute to 1980s popular culture. Speaking of which…
Coffin Feeder – Plain Zero
Belgian deathcore band Coffin Feeder have awakened my inner nerd with Plain Zero, the title of which is a reference to a scene in the 1987 movie The Running Man. It’s one of many songs with such old-school cinematic references on the album Big Trouble – itself a reference to the 1986 movie Big Trouble in Little China. The album cover – already one of my all-time favourites! – contains images from numerous action movies from the 80s and 90s, including Predator, Robocop, Die Hard and others, as well as the movie from which its name is derived. There’s even an image of Gizmo from Gremlins urinating on an alien from They Live, which is nice. It is available from April 25th, courtesy of Listenable Records. This particular track features a guest appearance by Mark Hunter of Chimaira.
Miriah – Sometimes the Dragon Wins
I’m a sucker for a good drum intro. There’s simply not enough of them, which is odd, because when they’re done right, such as on Judas Priest’s Painkiller or Sepultura’s Territory, they make a good song even more memorable. The intro performed by Jeff Martines on this song, from the EP of the same name, released on April 25th via Heaven and Hell Records, is in that category. He alternates rapidly between the toms and kick drums in an impressive manner before settling into a triplet-based groove that is simply exquisite! It’s an excellent introduction to a good, old-fashioned bit of traditional heavy metal from Mayland band Miriah. Sadly, they appear to be no longer active, and it seems that this material has been salted away for 30 years. If that’s the case, it was well worth the wait, and it sounds as fresh as a fountain.
Inhuman Nature – Possessed to Die
We return to thrash metal for our next selection, courtesy of British band Inhuman Nature. The London-based group – no wonder they’re so angry. The price of a pint in the big smoke would be enough on its own to send me into a rage – have returned with their second studio album, Greater Than Death, released via Church Road Records on April 25th, and it’s a brutal affair, judging by Possessed to Die. The title made me think immediately of Suicidal Tendencies, probably because of Possessed to Skate, but there’s something about the raw production that brings to mind the classic era of thrash. Actually, with the vocals more akin to death metal, it’s very much like pre-Chaos AD Sepultura, especially with the slow chug towards the end that is highly reminiscent of Dead Embryonic Cells. It’s highly enjoyable old-school stuff.
H. E. A. T – Disaster
Here, we have a delicious slice of Västerbotten – top-notch Swedish cheese, in other words, courtesy of melodic hard rock band H. E. A. T, who release their eighth studio album, Welcome to the Future, via earMUSIC on April 25th. It’s so cheesy, it should be handled with care by the lactose intolerant, but I absolutely love it! It starts off with Europop synths, but it’s only eight bars later that the big guitar riff kicks in and we’re rocking. The melodies are catchy, the harmonies are bold and brilliant, the guitar solo is spine-tingling, and the vocals of prodigal vocalist Kenny Leckremo are simply breathtaking. How does Sweden keep producing such impressive singers? The 1980s arcade-themed video is a lot of fun, too. It’s all very retro this week, isn’t it?
https://youtu.be/3CokWIQBK-M?si=iQkyAqjzGVc40xLj
The Storyteller – Final Stand
This is exactly what I want from my Scandinavian power metal, you know. It’s all about the air raid siren vocals, the sturdy drumming, the riffs and solos that make you fret – no pun intended – for the guitarist’s fingers, and above all else, the epic tales of bold and valiant warriors going off to distant lands to wave their weapons around in front of the unsuspecting villagers. The Swedish veterans have been doing this for thirty years, and they are back with their seventh full-length album, Final Stand, on April 25th via The Circle Music. The title track is almost as immense as the mythical beast in the artwork. That’s right; there’s a fucking enormous dragon on the cover! What more do you want?
