It is better to lay down stories about wars than actually fight them. It is better than imagine destruction in one's head than really issuing the order to fulfil it. So if not fight so sing and play about it, trying to relive the lost forgotten mania of the art of killing and spilling blood in the name of countries. No remorse and no regret, shoot to kill, sometimes for thrill, and have no fear as the end is near. Not wishing to be the war poet on this review, but it just came out flashing. So it's back to the WWII, that damned war that served as the killing ground for millions, a massacre of innocent, including my people in the process and they named it the holocaust. Many Metal bands have been in and out of this wretched theme, whether extreme or none, some were able to survey that awful war in manner that provided another angle and thought pattern never observed before, yet some molested the old wound craving for attention only to be rapidly forgotten. I was pleased to feel and understand that DEATHMARCHED, the newly emerged formation from Finland, paved the journey through the band lands with something solid to offer as their debut installment.

"Spearhead Of Iron", via Violent Journey Records presents a band attempting to reach for the high grounds with old school Death Metal, with a slight Doomish attitude, as only the late 80s and early 90s could muster back in the day. Influences of MOTORHEAD, VENOM, BOLT THROWER, ASPHYX and early SODOM came out surging through the bloody battle fields of the forlorn fallen armies. DEATHMARCHED canonized with their brutal, roughly made rhythms, led partly by the great drum and bass tightness of Juha Pohtoand Esa Pennala as if they actually held the drums of war and summoned the rivals to fire as they wish, kill at will, no mercy for the weak, only the strong will survive kind of acts. The main aspect of the band's music is simplicity, so you might forget about a melodic direction; the band didn't go over its head to relish their riffing with something techy or highly complex, thank you Hannu Kujanen. Mika Hankaniemi on the vocals seemed rather clear as both raspy toned singer and a growler, in the same vein of ASPHYX's Martin Van Drunen along with SODOM's Tom Angelripper. With a series of plain fast paced riffs or mid tempo grooves, they made their own havoc. Enough for my nourishment on this case, especially with great destructive antics played on "Iron Coffins", "Death Master", "Open Fire!", "The Witch Of Horror" and "Massmurderer". Though I wished for a better lead guitar lines that were composed by Kujanen, which on this album were less than moderate following that squeamish late SLAYER style of start and finish fast, needless to say that what was there didn't even pinch me as it was empty.

DEATHMARCHED gave WWII their own meaning; it's so called grandeur with its many battles and countless corpses lying around. With their ASPHYX oriented sound that added another enticer to their album, they were able to come up with a good album that can serve as a milestone to the continuance of their career. "Spearhead Of Iron" is a straightforward piece of music without messing around, plain and simple and as wicked as it can get. A tool of war, whether criticism about it or not, it is almost as an old school Death Metal should resemble. This band has grit and I sure hope they will continue to capitalize upon it.