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IRONFLAME “Kingdom Torn Asunder”
IRONFLAME “Kingdom Torn Asunder”
By Colonel Angus
I did not know much about IRONFLAME before getting this disk to review. I did like Andrew D'Cagna’s vocals on ICARUS WITCH’s “Goodbye Cruel World”. I was a fan of ICARUS WITCH and thought that D'Cagna was a great addition to that outfit but when I heard that his band was more power metal, I didn’t go any further. Truth be told, I’m not that much of a power metal geek but when it’s done well, it can be quite glorious. Well, shame on me for not giving IRONFLAME a chance before this release because, for the most part, this is a fantastic record. There was one track that I wasn’t into but more on that later. After doing some more research, I come to find out that IRONFLAME is basically a one-man show with D'Cagna behind all the instrumentation and vocals aside from some guitar solos that were completed by Quinn Lukas and Jesse Scott. I have to give D’Cagna because not only is he a great vocalist, his playing throughout is better than solid.
The album starts off with “Blood and Honor” and while it is good, it is a little too cliché power metal for me. There are some great galloping parts that save the track but overall, this tune is not one of my favorites. The next song “Soul Survivors” is more like it. It has a great NWOTHM (New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal) sound and even the production really brings out that old-school metal vibe. In fact, the next couple of tracks have that same sound with “Majesty of Steel” jumping out of the speakers with its rapid fire guitar riffing and “Mistress of Desire“ which shows off D’Cagna’s vocal range. That latter also has this great galloping riff before the chorus that hints at IRON MAIDEN and elevates the track even more.
Speaking of MAIDEN, “Standing Tall” has many aspects of what we all love about them but with the added power metal elements thrown in to make the track into something special. This is an example of when power metal is done right, it can be awesome. To contrast that tune, “Sword of a Thousand Truths” struts along in pure DIO fashion and again, D’Cagna vocals really shine through the song (and the whole record for that matter). The album ends with another couple of great NWOTHM tune and on “Riding the Dragons” there is some brilliant guitar work that reminds me of classic JUDAS PRIEST and IRON MAIDEN. Closing piece “Shadow of the Reaper” has this guitar riff throughout that somehow sets it apart from the rest of the record but still fits in with the other material.
I would recommend getting the CD version as it contains a couple of bonus tunes, both of which worthy of inclusion into your metal collection. “Cold Flesh Falls” is another traditional heavy metal song but of the two, the ballad-ish “Exile of the Sun” is far and away the superior track. Why this wasn’t included in the “main” part of the album is a mystery to me. It has a very epic feel and has all drama of a film soundtrack. This a truly a standout tune and should not be missed so go and purchase the CD version.
The big takeaway for me is to not dismiss a band (or record) just because I heard it was power metal. Quite frankly, there were only a couple of tracks that I would classify as power metal and “Standing Tall” was an example of that genre done properly. The rest of the album was straight up traditional metal and that was fine by me. All in all, Kingdom Torn Asunder is a record that I will be spinning for months to come and it has convinced me to check out their older material.
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