THE FERRYMEN
THE FERRYMEN – “Iron Will”
By Colonel Angus
There are so many bands that sometimes it’s hard to keep everything in focus and I find myself having to go through my CD collection to see if it is a band that I already know. Because THE FERRYMEN are not one of the groups that I follow regularly, I had to do a little research only to find that I already had their first two releases. Needless to say, once I found the disks, all the memories came flowing back reminding me that they were a solid bunch that created songs that were epic heavy metal tunes with more melody than most melodic rock tracks.
The band is focused on the three main guys; Ronnie Romero who has lent his vocal talents to LORDS OF BLACK along with RAINBOW and MICHAEL SCHENKER, Magnus Karlsson who has crafted some scorching guitar work for a number of band but most notably PRIMAL FEAR, and former RAGE skin basher Mike Terrana. I like that the line-up has been consistent because any change would make the sound different and what THE FERRYMEN don’t need is to change their sound.
Consistency can be a bad thing when the material or performances are lackluster but THE FERRYMEN play at such a high level that consistency is exactly what we want. You get it all here with the aptly titled “Adrenaline” which has a great driving rhythm that will definitely get you moving. The brooding and pounding “Dust to Dust” had me headbanging from the first spin. Honestly, from the opening guitar work on “Choke Hold”, this record will grab you by the throat and won’t let go until the final track. I know this sounds over the top but “Iron Will” is pure epic melodic metal from start to finish.
Even slower moments like “Dreams and Destiny” still contain that epic feel that fits in nicely with all of the other hard-hitting material. Even the swagger of “You’re the Joker” offers some variety while still staying in the confines of their sound. It would difficult for me to pick a high point as I feel the whole record doesn’t have any missteps or filler material. THE FERRYMEN have set the bar high and manage to stay well above the line. “Iron Will” may be as consistently great as the self-titled debut or “A New Evil” (I don’t have “One More River To Cross” but will correct that shortly) which is fine by me. Some metalers are always looking for something new but honestly, when you come upon a winning formula, why mess with the ingredients.
2025 is shaping up to be a great year for metal and I can’t imagine “Iron Will” not being in my top ten. We should all be thankful that Romero, Karlsson, and Terrana keep putting out material because there are too few bands that perform this type of metal. And even fewer that play at this level. Now that they have four records under their belt, they need to tour and bring their musical magic to the masses.