• …YOU MISSED • As part of our yearly recap the …You Missed series attempts to collect interesting releases I’d otherwise missed, didn’t cover, or didn’t appreciate until later. This is -NOT- a best of, but a collection of interesting curios worth mentioning as we reflect upon the year. // In an attempt to be more conversational these are more easygoing and casual than longform reviews, so relax and think for yourself. — If you find something you dig go tell the band on social media and support them with a purchase! If you’d like your music reviewed, read the FAQ and send promos to: grizzlybutts@hotmail.com

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Weehawken, New Jersey-borne quintet ATTACKER are probably best known as a watermark for United States power metal per their Metal Blade released debut ‘Battle at Helm’s Deep‘ and while the first five years of their development is still of course notable they’ve been revived and at it for ~24 years since, having released five full-lengths in that period of time. ‘The God Particle‘ is their eighth overall but the fourth with vocalist Bobby Lucas (Reverend, ex-Morbid Sin) up front and for my own taste his voice has been the major point of continuity for their last several albums, more-or-less building up to the particularly sharp result of this album. While there are many groups one could point to from a certain era which also define USPM in some way the common bond, or, influence tends to be Judas Priest‘s transition into the 80’s, not that this album sounds like ‘Killing Machine‘ exactly but that the lineage of this sound should be rousing to folks who appreciate the core of what drives groups like Jag Panzer, Liege Lord or Agent Steel even if that implies something more thrashing than this actually is. As is the case with most all of the items I’ve selected for this list you’re getting pure, un-fucked with heavy metal here and a solid chunk of it all in a row.

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Austin, Texas-based quintet IGNITOR return with their seventh full-length album and give us another exceptional example of traditional heavy metal that need not feign ignorance of the present to uphold the law. Or, we could simply accuse ‘Horns and Hammers‘ of being in a timeless tradition and coming from folks best known for their key work in Agony Column and Watchtower including the still brilliant range and expression of Jason McMaster. I didn’t like ‘Haunted by Rock & Roll‘ all that much back in 2017 but the two records they’ve released since have tightened up their aesthetic, their songcraft and an overall focus on harmonization be it dual leads or vocal layers which add to the early 80’s NWOBHM inspired touch to their melodicism and kinda early power metal excesses which jump up to speed metal pace here and there. Standouts for my taste were “Shattered Crosses”, the use of bass guitar/keys on “Ferocious the Martyr” and the guitar work on “Imperial Bloodlines”.

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Münster, Germany-based epic heavy/doom metal trio HIGH WARDEN made an incredible first impression with their debut full-length album having found a pretty damned pro point of entry here with ‘Astral Iron‘, a varied and finely produced heavy metal record with solid cover artwork. If you are a fan of Dread Sovereign, DoomSword, Altar of Oblivion and still have some great love for the 80’s classics of epic heavy/doom metal you’ll likely appreciate this one for its variety, its heavy rock inspired breaks, and the dramatic quality of the vocals which are fairly broad-set from song to song. The guitar tone is almost perfect here, hitting best during their more galloping riffs (see: end of “Devil His Due/Whores of Yerusalim”) and the bass guitar tone has a nice underfloor snarl to it that reminds me of the Greek epic heavy bands of the 2000’s. This was one of those records I’d set aside for this list during a packed release date which I’d always wanted to recommend highly.

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Detroit, Michigan-based quintet AMONG THESE ASHES arrive upon a pretty ideal setup here on this sophomore full-length album as their early 90’s thrash/groove metal inspired sounds reflect some love for the early work of Nevermore or perhaps the less prog-inclined era of Eidolon where 90’s power metal and latent muscle memory for thrash metal riffcraft made a reasonably popular pair. Granted, anything I write something to that effect the assumption is that the band doesn’t really have “riffs” worth mentioning and the focus is on shred and vocal work but I’d say fans of power/thrash metal with some chugging and stop-start chipped rhythms will appreciate the ‘The Politics of Ecstasy‘ level of energy here without the charred atmospheric production values. Otherwise there is just enough variety here to create a sense of style but I’d found this album most interesting as I’d reach the more vocally driven pieces (see: “Stronger Than Death”, much of Side B) which showcase the always brilliant voice of Jean-Pierre Abboud (Traveler, ex-Gatekeeper). Though I wasn’t always up for a full hour of this album and it isn’t overall my kind of gig but I did appreciate their work in bursts.

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Though I’ve seen some reasonably stated hype for this sophomore full-length from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based quartet MORGUL BLADE I’m still leaning toward their debut as a standout favorite. A big part of this is that I’d found the new vocalist’s work on this album less deranged, or, at least less expressive than expected as such a prominent feature and this makes their sound somewhat more typified in the snarled/80’s black vocal lead traditional heavy metal realm. Otherwise a deeper strike into the 80’s heavy metal well of songcraft yields more interesting variety overall from pure n’ plain stompers, the cheese of the title track, the blackened 70’s yacht trots of “Razor Sharp”, to the speed metallic rushes of “Spider God” we get a stuffier but far more active hand set upon the compositions here. For my taste it is a good time but not an infectious, brain worming record just yet.

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The first song on this wild progressive/heavy metal throwback debut LP from Tasmania, Australia-based duo GLOOMY REFLECTIONS manages to be some kind of cowbell-whipping anthem right out of the gates, making quick friends with my skull thanks to keyboard/synth work which carries its tripped and trite melody through. ‘Oath of the Paladins‘ is the result of Will Spectre (Tarot, The Wizar’d) and Lord Godith (Quest Master) carrying a torch for the early Blue Oyster Cult, the NWOBHM’s later years and adjacency to prog rock (see: Demon) and of course this will read as more of a heavy rock record overall, that distinction doesn’t matter much here. Anytime I picked this album up it’s immersive ‘throwback’ appeal was quickly evident and the songs are all fairly catchy per their fittingly glum/~early goth affect. I’d probably reach for something like Spectre‘s Tarot first per my interest in heavy psych but I appreciated the unique qualities of this debut.

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Bavaria, Germany-based quintet TYRAN kinda mash the mid-to-late 70’s set atmosphere of Priest‘s dual guitar gear with the hustle of power and speed metal on this oft anthemic and energetic debut LP. The vocalist Nicolas Peter in particular has this old school meets slightly less old school range down as the 70’s ’til 80’s feeling of this record begins to shape. The first three or so songs are enough to sell old heads on this record but folks who stick around and take a closer look should appreciate the prime NWOBHM-era feel of this record (see: “Highway Warriors”) as it gets a bit glossier and treated with softer reverb, soaring vocals, and chorales (“Assault”) which are just corny enough to fit into their whole gig. I’d found myself wanting more variety in terms of the rhythm guitar sounds and I didn’t find all of their pure and simply songcraft all that inspiring but the whole of the album is certainly worth recommending.

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SENTRY is the first official release from the final line-up of Manillla Road with Masters of Disguise guitarist Kalli Coldsmith taking up the fourth chair and of course this sets up pretty clear expectations of what to expect here if you’re familiar with the early 2000’s era of their former group where the introduction of Hellroadie broadened their vocal range and struck upon some heavier stuff outright. That isn’t to say that this record sounds like ‘Atlantis Rising‘ exactly but I can definitely feel the spirit of old and new enthusiasm running through this new project. For my own taste it is probably one of the best heavy metal records of the year but also something I discovered long after its release. I was sold by the time the Candlemass n’ thrash of “The Haunting” hit and all but I’d say stick around for just how much they crank up the dramatism along the way and land some heavier blows down the road. Great album.

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Copenhagen, Denmark-based quintet PECTORA return for a sophomore full-length here and the biggest change up front is the addition of new vocalist Philip Butler (Crucible, ex-Encyrcle) who is an excellent choice for his melodic range and best suited for this type of charging, dramatic traditional heavy metal record. ‘Twilight Nights‘ doesn’t sit in one place and so far most serious criticism given to this record could be echoed here where this is an album of two modes, one is decidedly 80’s set traditional craft and the next is groovier, chugging away at something more modern (power metal and a bit of Halford‘s solo records-era chug) and just entirely different in tone. Still, the sum of these parts is not bad just disjointed in that it feels like they had one idea that produced a few great ‘old school’ metal songs, and another that’d totally changed the tone of their gig during a second songwriting session.

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For the uninitiated Sardinia, Italy-based quartet ICY STEEL have been at it since roughly 2005 via the pure and epic heavy metal vision of guitarist/vocalist Stefano Galeano who more recently added Lord Goblin‘s Andy Mornar on second guitar. For my own taste the appeal of this band is partly their heroic stride and mostly the guitar work both for its authentic approach to 80’s heavy metal be it in their earlier ‘adventure metal’ mode or this more tuneful, immediate step we find on ‘The Wait, the Choice, and the Bravery‘. The slower, more deliberately built their work is the more it aligns with my taste though this album experiments a bit with different melodic devices, some kinda tripped-out effects, and builds its personae around snarling vocals and plenty of shredding-upward leads (see: “The One Who Chose to Climb the World”). They’ve kept it just weird and narrative enough to feel like a real underground heavy metal record, something a bit different but not wholly deranged that’d stood out to me.

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