by Martin Popoff
Iron Fire-Thunderstorm
(Noise)Pooped out of some sort of label competition/vote thing, Iron Fire are a new Danish power metal proposal with an average age of 18. Man, is there really so much money in this "pure" metal charade that kids this young are leaping aboard the flaming barge? Beginning as much less power poo, first as Misery, and then Decades Of Darkness, these clean slates have adopted the whole odious schtick with a worse verbose dose than any and all quick-komers. Their minute sliver of a difference? A fair bit of power, both in the guitar sound and the drums. Other than that, it's a stomach-churning antidote to originality, Iron Fire being yet one more Hammerfall/Helloween clone on about metal victory and such, one more too many for my liking, "bartender, one more!" Let's drink to forget.
Rating 4Running Wild-Victory
(Pavement)Despite the psych-out of the band's fairly elegant graphics, Running Wild have always been the rougher, gruffer point on the trinity that finds Rock 'n' Rolf and crew grinding out the bulging catalogues alongside Sinner and Grave Digger. Folks in the know point to better songwriting on this, but really, you don't get much adjustment from this stiff and straight-ahead no-frills power metal machine. Definitely the poorer cousins of Grave Digger but in that same heavy Accept zone, Running Wild simply pound on, almost random differences in the production (this is a tad low on bass), a new collection of songs but much the same riff-revolved evident evidence. Highlight of the album (which is all about revolutionary war), a cover of the Beatles' Revolution which is given a happy Wildhearts-like headbang, complete with jagged metal riffs and double bass, truly innovative and quite the guilty pleaure.
Rating 7.5
