Sounding the great horn, ensorceling their spell of death upon iron, and calling down the devourer’s jaw Brisbane, Australia-based epic heavy metal duo FATE’S HAND engrave the earth with well-tempered blades on this inspired debut full-length album. With strong personage carried up front and additional melodic acumen presented throughout ‘Steel, Fire & Ice‘ strikes a chord most resonant with 80’s epic heavy/power metal interest while bringing well above-average riffcraft to the fray. Although this is a debut the end result is all-pro, not only in terms of render and performance but with a clear identity forged and worthy, memorable songs in hand.

Fate’s Hand formed as a quartet circa 2019 intending a heavy metal result via songcraft via guitarist/bassist Gjöll (Mongrel’s Cross, Consummation) and vocals from Denimal (StarGazer, Intellect Devourer, et al.) alongside a rhythm section that’d stuck around for their self-titled EP (‘Fate’s Hand‘, 2021). When I reviewed it I’d praised the personality available to those four songs describing it as: “…a bard’s lungful of adventure, glory, and rousing upward-striking heavy metal guitar music that tells its tale via intensely composed works and roar-of-the-crowd worthy performances.” while suggesting the obviate relation between certain types of extreme metal and epic heavy/power metal. While many folks heard everything from Bathory to Queensrÿche (?) I’d walked away from that EP expecting something kinda pre-’88 Fates Warning or early 90’s Running Wild in stature. After spending time with this new LP (+ staring at the cover art for a bit) the Quorthonian epic heavy metal fumes are impossible to deny here, particularly on the first and last songs.

Between the hymnal, firmament cracking arrival of “The Quest Spirit” and the Åsgårdsreien inspired cover art (via maestro Paolo Girardi) you might get the impression that ‘Steel, Fire & Ice‘ will be all in on Quorthon inspired muse (a la Sons of Crom, etc.) but this ‘Hammerheart‘ worthy stomp is only one facet of Fate’s Hand‘s expansion across this record. The opener’s snapped-out groove is a warrior-level heavy metal march set in between verses which part the clouds with their high-set choral accompaniment and groaning refrains. Already there is an axe-carrying, steed riding sort of personae riding out, helped a great deal by Denimal‘s (Road Warrior, Johnny Touch) expanding ouevre, but they don’t get stuck right there as different pacing and song structures break the full listen from the similarly shaped set found on ‘Fate’s Hand‘.

Side A otherwise aims for a mid-paced power metal jog-and-shout via the sage “Fount of All Waters” and earlier 80’s cut “Woven in Space and Time” where the former is one of the best compositional feats on the record for my taste and the latter the catchiest, most memorable piece on the record for my own taste. The first impression made is admirably pure but never mundane, a strict understanding of the principals of traditional heavy metal songcraft and where auld tenets are most pliably exaggerated. While that first chunk of song features some of the most ear-gripping shots taken here Side B soars by comparison, leaning into a slightly speedier gallop and leans into tightly writ melodic pieces which carry off into their own dramatic tangent to great effect (re: “Fire Reigns Once More“). My favorite song on the second half is nonetheless one of the shortest in “The Cosmic Ash” and likely because one of the main riffs hits a little bit like Jewel‘s “Road to Kathmandu”, a similarly catchy song.

‘Steel, Fire & Ice‘ has some of the better riffcraft you’ll find on a traditional heavy metal record this year. None of these songs drop into split second of unworthy rhythm throughout… though if this record was fifty minutes and not ~37 minutes long I’d probably want a burst of speed or two to keep the energy up. Lead guitar work is even more impressive here as more than the usual supporting cast acting as a constant prodding voice of each song without becoming the sole driver of melodic interest. There are enough layers available to the guitar performances alone to make Fate’s Hand‘s debut worthy listening though it counts just as much that they’ve managed a course of oddly infectious songs here, too, and without losing the core sensation of 80’s heavy metal (inspired) experience. A high recommendation.

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