Embedded Files
IGNITOR “Horns And Hammers”
IGNITOR “Horns And Hammers”
By Dr. Abner Mality
Some tough Texas steel, right here. Looking at the promo pic of IGNITOR, you can see a million miles of road on the faces of these veterans. This is an experienced band that has made metal a way of life and every ounce of that experience can be heard on “Horns And Hammers”.
The band features one of metal’s best voices, Jason McMaster of WATCHTOWER, DANGEROUS TOYS and other bands I can’t quite recall right now. I can’t imagine anybody that would fit the IGNITOR sound better. A little bit DIO, a little bit Sebastian Bach, he adds a lot of depth and emotion here. The band reminds me of pure metal bands like METAL CHURCH, HELSTAR and VICIOUS RUMORS. They hit the ground running with the bracing title track, which reminds me of the last band mentioned above. Just fast, melodic metal, with sharp guitar attacks from Robert Williams and Stuart “Batlord” Laurence (formerly of AGONY COLUMN, a great cult Texas band you should check out). They segue from that to the equally impressive “Imperial Bloodlines” and it’s off to the races.
I like the more upbeat, slightly more commercial tone of “Cyber Crush” and the moody, very METAL CHURCH vibe of “Ferocious The Martyrs” which features some juicy bass work. The only track that left me flat was “Suicide Anthem”, which comes across pretty generic. They even break out a great cover of SAXON’s “Machine Gun” which matches the original for total guitar string destruction. At just about every point, we are reminded how METAL Texas can be.
A great record for just plain headbanging enjoyment!
Report abuse