No matter what happens, the last thing that one can take away from another is passion. When referred to Metalheads, it has been widely known, as far as I know, that they are heavily loyal to their favored musical genre, which is quite evident what it is. If acting as creators, they will find ways to glorify the best of how this music affects others with its remarkable hold, as if were preachers and educators. The list is long where the protectors of Metal are concerned, and every now and then a new one joins the family. Emerging from Leipzig, Germany, the traditional tainted PROWLER, through their music reflect their utmost respects to the finer area of Heavy Metal, are not afraid of standing guard to its cliches and mannerism. Newly signed to the local Pure Steel Records, this solid crew issued their debut "Stallions Of Steel", devoting themselves to old school Metal al'a IRON MAIDEN, ACCEPT, HELLOWEEN and some of their next of kin. However, though there is never a fine line and with my personal compliments, I think that somewhere along the way this here venture could have been thought through for just a bit to raise the bar.

As far as I can conjure from this release, and nothing negative about it, PROWLER are living in a different timeline. On the other hand, "Stallions Of Steel", upon its march for glory, exemplify a band still struggling to hold the line in the name of old Heavy Metal. For instance, it is easy to notice how the songs display a revamping of heavily basic patterns of riffery (at times recurring between songs in not such a different version), singular patterned singing that shows a level of uncertainty and sometimes mere unfinished or lacklustre and also rhythm section that needs a bit more work on the bridges and tightness. On certain points I sensed a measure of songwriting amateurism, merely in the image of some awkward song structures and passages that just didn't connect or were out of place. I also noticed a sort of naive approach, especially when the lyrics are concerned. Of course free will should reign supreme, but I do believe that there would be a limit. Finally, there were points where my face turned bitter just when I wished for that good ole' sparkle to rush in.

Honestly, it is not as if PROWLER didn't have their moments on "Stallions Of Steel", proving that this group is dedicated enough with become greater in time, and establishing a potential to improve. Harnessing their best efforts, the last epic number, "A Maiden's Funeral", simple shows what PROWLER should aspire to in their music and compositions. Though there are raw twists, I believe that this song is a solid steel formation of a good Heavy Metal epos, largely British in nature, with outbursts of heat. "Out of the Night" and "Freedom" also propose a similar promise of 80's Metal pride, yet for catchy tunes, those could have been smoother and a tad sophisticated rather than generic, although who said that generic songs often aren't fun and hard hitting? Personally, I found the song "Stallions of Steel" to be a complete miss, might have been the band's golden hit track. It has an ACCEPT meets early SCANNER type of anthemic chorus, and a pack of tasty riffs that breach the world beyond, but the rest of the song appears as if forcefully knit to that chorus. You may also experience brighter moments of the ancient Metallic traditions on the opening "Motorcycle Of Love" that also is driven by solid Hard Rock and the alleged personal ego pleaser of "Prowler".

Even after nearly seven years in the market, PROWLER still sound like a band that just learned how to tread the black waters of Metal music. No doubt that through several notes in their music I grasped that they are no stranger to talent, but there is a way to go. The potential is there, all they have to do is just to keep heading forward with the same load of motivation and conviction.