Well, my dear readers, if you don’t know who OSTROGROTH is by now, you either haven’t been paying attention to my reviews, meaning I haven’t been doing my job or, you’ve  been spending way too much time binge watching The Masked Singer, but alas, I feel it is my duty to bring you all up to speed. Formed in Belgium in 1979 and releasing one EP and three full-length albums between 1983 and 1987 which all have been reissued for release on September 19, 2023 on High Roller Records. My assignment was to review all four of these albums, and now I am at the final frontier with “Feelings of Fury”. This album brings a few lineup changes, the most significant being the lead vocalist with Peter De Wint (also worked as a mixer/sound engineer with major acts like W.A.S.P., TWISTED SISTER, GLENN HUGHES, LORDI, JOE LYNN TURNER in studio and on tour) replacing Marc de Brauwer and Juno Martins replacing Hans van de Kerckhove on lead guitar. The album, when released in 1987 on the brand-new label Ultraprime was initially slated to be titled “Reincarnation”  but was later ditched. (sorry, just a little mindless trivia) They naturally went through the normal band lineup changes and various musical styles over those years before modest record sales led to their disbanding in 1988. The first three albums I have reviewed all have been less than stellar, putting it nicely, so I look forward to this album to see what the new lineup brings to the table.

Not sure what or where they were headed with the opening track “Conquest” which was one minute and twenty-two seconds of mundane keyboard snooze fest, so, let’s get on to the second track “The Introduction” which is a welcomed turnaround from the first three albums, a definite harder edge with a blistering opening riff that launches into a rocking melody and is coupled by the screaming, mezzo-falsetto vocals of Peter De Wint, the immediate musical difference between this lineup and the previous is mind blowing and I can’t wait to see what lays ahead. “Samurai” keeps the pace with a furious tempo while bringing an IRON MAIDEN vibe and attitude complete with a nicely paired dual guitar engagement. The next three songs “Love Can Wait”,  “We Are The Ace” and “The Hunter” all sustain the momentum with a beefy, flurry of crushing riffs and licks and the heated vocals delivering the goods. There is a nice balancing act between guitars and vocals, with neither stepping on each other’s toes. “What The Hell Is Going On” transfers to a bluesy tempo with a slide guitar and a good, ole down home riff giving some bite surrounded by gritty, attacking vocals and lyrics “A place to hide, a room that never ends, the windows are locked up at the inside, there's no way out, there are paintings at the walls, their faces are watching me, is it me”, a definite shot and a beer song.

Amazing what bringing in the old car for a tune up can do, OSTROGOTH is now hitting on all cylinders with this new lineup. They sounded fresh and rejuvenated with a nice blend of hard and classic sounding arrangements. “Feelings of Fury” had no resemblance to the first three albums. It’s a real shame this lineup disbanded shortly after this release; They have reunited in 2015 but with a different lead singer.