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SACRED STEEL “Ritual Supremacy”
SACRED STEEL “Ritual Supremacy”
By Bob Burner
If you visited any great record store in the 2000’s I am sure you came across the band SACRED STEEL. Their albums were a staple of mail orders and shops across the globe. They are a band who wore their heart on their sleeves when it comes to being proud of who they are and what they play. While often never praised as heavy metal kings, they would be the warriors of that land! This long running band of over 25 years has six full length albums under their metal studded belts. These traditional metal warriors now have a brand new album to grace the world with titled “Ritual Supremacy” on Reigning Phoenix Music.
For those who have not heard this band, one would just assume they are a standard heavy metal band thus the name and look and covers of the albums. But there is a lot more going on with this band and they have created a unique sound that would make the patches of many hesher vest fall off once they blasted this new album. Many would assume that they would have your standard metal sound of high vocals and cookie cutter songs, but if you assumed this you would be highly wrong. SACRED STEEL have created a sound of their own and one that I hope more people would open their ears to. The vocals are a great mix of the early Kai Hansen style and the music is a rich blend of classic metal mixed with pulse pounding riffs and hooks. Each song has a great variety of pace from some slower brooding epic tunes to the more anthem style catchy upbeat ones.
This new album is clocked full of quality and if you are a fan of power metal or traditional metal I think you will find something you will enjoy. While SACRED STEEL are not breaking down new doors or reinventing the sword, they are putting out some great stuff that I think any fan of metal can enjoy. This new album really pushes them into a new level and hopefully one that can get more eyes on the band. The opening track “Ritual Supremacy” is a great way to kick off the mood and set the pace of this new album with its high energy and almost speed metal vocals and pace. Just as you think you have this album figured out and it will just be more of the same you hit the song “The Watcher Infernal” and you are blessed with a more stronger slower song but not a ballad by any means... more of an emotional almost anthem that comes across very heart felt. But just as you think things have slowed down you are strapped into the chariot and back in the fast race with the song “A Shadow in the Bell Tower” which takes you back to the fast pace this band really excels in.
While this is a solid album my only wish that it ended on a higher note and not the slower song that ends this really solid album. While it is not a super slow song I think a catchier song would have benefitted this album to leave you wanting to revisit it again.
This slab of metal comes recommended, while it isn’t breaking down new walls, it is a band who knows what they are and loves playing heavy metal. What else could you really ask for? You have some great fantasy / medieval lyrics, amazing production, a variety of pace with each song so it never gets stale and you literally have a magical world of musical fantasy in your hands! Get on your steed and gallop to your local store or locate it online through one of the magical portals to get this sent via mail order, but this album may be what some of the jaded metal fans could be after. A great throwback to the great era of metal without all the bells and whistles and symphonic melodies but to a time where true heavy metal was forged in steel. Raise your swords to this solid release and take it along on your journeys to where every they may take you, SACRED STEEL have a solid release and one that is recommend to check out.
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