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ABSOLUTE POWER “Needs Must When The Devil Drives”
ABSOLUTE POWER “Needs Must When The Devil Drives”
By Dr. Abner Mality
There is no shortage of bands paying tribute to the classic heavy metal of the NWOBHM, but ABSOLUTE POWER is special. This is more than a tribute…this is a record that could proudly stand shoulder with the great bands they pay homage to. It might be the best classic metal album I’ve heard in 2026.
It is the creation of NAPALM DEATH’s Shane Embury (a very busy man these days) and the renowned producer Simon Efemey, who manned the boards for projects as diverse as THE WONDER STUFF and PARADISE LOST. It’s obvious these guys love their heavy metal, as ABSOLUTE POWER just reeks of pure British steel from the Midlands. You can hear the sounds of JUDAS PRIEST, SAXON, ANGEL WITCH and those great obscure NWOBHM bands who never made it, but should have. It’s not just imitation, though, as ABSOLUTE POWER has its own sound. Their understanding of what makes metal work is obvious in every note here.
That’s apparent with first song, the title track. This is such a great tune, with its galloping lope and incredibly catchy vocal lines. Simon Efemey has a perfect voice for the band…there’s no falsetto screams or over the top histrionics, but there’s a kind of sad melody to his voice that just works for the band. That voice again proves its worth on another killer track, “Orphans of the Storm”, which has such a driving force yet an underlying melancholy to it.
There’s some real hammer-down PRIESTish metal to be found on “Insanity”, “Praise the Fire” and the oddly titled “Kernsmelze”. Deceptively simple yet powerful, the way most great metal is. “Within” is a haunting ballad very much in the style of SABBATH’s “Planet Caravan”, which again showcases Efemey’s voice, but in a different style.There’s not a bad track on this album, which features guest performances from CANCER’s Carl Stokes and THE MISSION’s Mark Thwaite amongst many others. I’ll say it again…ABSOLUTE POWER is more than just a tribute, it is worthy of tribute in itself!
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