AIR RAID is a New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal band from Sweden. They were formed in 2012 by Andy Johansson, who has previously gone by Andy Stormchild and Stormchild. "Fatal Encounter" is the bands fourth album, the third on High Roller Records. It is the second album with "Fredrik Werner" on vocals and "Magnus Mild" on guitar, and the first appearance of "Jan Ekberg" on bass and "William Seidl" on drums.

"Thunderblood" is a straightforward rocker with melodic guitar solos and harmonic vocals. This could have easily been released in the 80's. A great track to start off with. "Lionheart" starts with an earie intro and proceeds full speed ahead. There is a break in the middle for some drum work and blazing guitar solos, and then finishes off where it all started. "In Solitude" is a slower more melodic track with strong vocals, and keyboards for more of a late 80's style.  "See the Light" is another mid-tempo rocker with catchy guitar riffs. This is actually a cover of a 1989 song by the Swedish band "Trazy".  "Sinforia" is an orchestral opus instrumental in Baroque style that is actually the re-working of piece by the Swedish eighteenth century composer J.H. Roman. It musically takes you back to a simpler time.

"Edge Of A Dream" starts with a melodic guitar solo followed by power chords and then speeds up the tempo for the vocals. The song then slows down into a doomier sound before speeding back up to the end. "Let The Kingdome Burn" starts with a slower intro and moves into another mid-tempo rocker with strong vocals. The whole band joins in for a mid-song instrumental.  "One by One" is dominated by melodic guitars and strong vocals. The song adds background vocals as a change of pace. "Pegasus Fantasy" finishes the album and is the only non-English song on the album. The song is actually a Japanese anime song from the 80's turned into a good Power Metal song to wrap everything up. The band has a strong fanbase in Japan, and they will certainly be pleased with this song.

With "Fatal Encounter", AIR RAID has delivered a solid-no-frill, 80's style metal in a melodic way. They call themselves a NWOTHM band, but also fit as well into the Power Metal and Euro Metal genres as well. "Andy Johansson" captures the inspiration of the great 80's metal guitarists, and channels them in his guitar solos. All members are competent musicians. There are not any surprises in their music, just quality riffs, a strong rhythm section, and quality vocals that don't try and do too much.