Through I have crossed paths with amazing Heavy Metal albums over the last decade that were able to shed some light of the Traditional Metal's situation since its fallout in the mid 90's, the 80's sensation just can't seem to be reproduced entirely. On the other hand, voices have been arguing that we have been under a constant revival when it comes to the classic age of Metal, meaning the British kind. Truth be told I have been a follower of that notion but as I mentioned it has been a bitch trying to satisfy my hunger for a classic. The British Heavy Metal band STORMZONE, hailing from Northern Ireland, have already kept my ears busy with their earlier discography. I have always found them quite nice to listen, true devotees of how British Metal should sound, yet that was it.

A few days ago, I received an e-mail from their stellar vocalist Harv Harbinson, who introduced me to their new album "Seven Sins", via Metal Nation Records. I told him that I would certainly review it and that it was the next on my list. Frankly, I was intrigued to listen to what these guys have been up to since "Three Kings", an album which I didn't review. And there I was, sucking the life out of "Seven Sins" only to reach to a single grand decision; STORMZONE just released their best album to date, the special kind of brew. I would suggest that Newcomer Heavy Metal bands, whether British or not, ought take a careful and deep listen to this album, inhale its spirit, let the mind compute and then head on their way to create their Metal. As I was saying, twice, it has been hard to re-experience the energies of the 80's, but at least for now, in 2015, STORMZONE were able to fulfill some of that hunger deep inside.

Too much of an intro there, yet I couldn't stop myself so please excuse me. So, "Seven Sins", a thin red line between what is IRON MAIDEN, regarding to its twin guitaring harmonies and rhythmic artistry, and what is considered to SAXON, thick layered rhythm guitaring mostly simplified and straight on vocals of the British brand. Certainly, I found this record to be of the top notch mixtures between these gods of Metal. STORMZONE added their stratum of blistering catchiness; every piece of chorus, even the fiercer ones, is worth writing home about. Can't really call those crowd pleasers, however, it would be hard to avoid the strong inspiration of the melodic vocal layers that dominated, Harbinson undoubtedly rocked it. Moreover, as a notable fan of simplistic rhythm guitar riffs, I was filled with utmost joy listening to such creations as "Another Rainy Night", swiftly parading with 80's oriented riffing almost Hard Rock in nature. The darker image of "Seven Sins" also produced a pitch of low tuned riffs that asserted the heaviness level of the release. "Raise The Knife" and the galloping "Special Brew" announced their presence with nostalgia of the old days. If I wanted explosive soloing, I turned up "Your Time Has Come", "I Know Your Pain" and "Master Of Sorrow", simply endless combustion of lead guitaring.

STORMZONE demonstrated that without the manifestation of mighty technical material, there is that awesome chance to win a true Metalhead's heart. The material's straightforward basis enabled the guys to create tunes that would strengthen the revival of NWOBHM in a current sound setting. I would nominate this one as one of my top for 2015. Even though there is a long way to go, and nobody is perfect, this is a piece of Heavy Metal that I wouldn't want to miss if I were you.