Riding in on motorcycles comes BLIZZEN from Weilberg, Germany. This group of Heavy Metal loving lads started making music together in 2014 and released their first studio album in 2016.  The band describes their music as New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal (NWOTHM). I'd mostly agree on the label. "World in Chains" brings on the shred factor and has that throwback to the 1980s production style along with their sound. You too can experience the flash to the past on April 24^th, 2020.

"Intro" is of course a synthy intro into the first full track "Gates of Hell". For an opening track, it was rather underwhelming. While the riffs were pretty cool and had that pure Heavy Metal sound, the rest was rather dull. There was a gap at the bridge with just drums and some unified riffage, seeming to be a ramp up to a guitar solo... but there wasn't one. I had to pause before starting the next track because the lack of guitar solo in a Heavy Metal song left me utterly confused. I did gather myself again though and proceeded onward to "Forged With Evil". This one has an awesome start with the very JUDAS PRIEST styled chuggy riffs. The guitar solo in the heart of this song left me more than pleased, even though they did the 'wandering around during the bridge' thing like in the previous track. "Gravity Remains" was a solid track. Lots of cymbal action going on with the drums, to the point that I found myself fixating on it during the verses. The solo portion was the highlight of this otherwise good, nothing flashy track. "World in Chains" has a cool intro with a dragging chain sound to add to the heavy, almost evil sounding guitars. This flows into a classic Heavy Metal style song with slightly political and timely lyrics, a catchy melody plus, of course, a killer shreddy guitar solo.

"Serial Killer" has this tempo that can easily match that of a racing heartbeat. It builds the feeling of danger as the song goes along. I'm not huge on the vocals, but I was still compelled enough that I enjoyed them with the song itself. The solo is a massive one, definitely the murderous peak of the song with frantic high notes and speedy moments. "Paradise Awaits" has another great pace to it; I was tapping along almost right away. This is definitely a song made for a circle pit formation with the low riffs and fast tempo, you kind of just want to shove things around.  "Lust" begins with the click of a lighter and the song builds like paper over a candle flame, slowly at first then spreads until it's completely ablaze. I strangely like the growly way the word 'lust' is repeated during the chorus; it sounds dangerous yet appealing, which also describes this song perfectly. "Forsaken Soul" is the speedy final track. The solo is rather... smooth compared to the rest, but it still works with the song. This closing song really goes out with a bang with some major noodle-fingers fast riffage and fast paced vocals too that kind of hopped all over the place.

All and all, I liked this more than I was expecting to.  BLIZZEN did well to make this an enjoyable album to listen to. I always enjoy some speedy riffs and fast paced melodies to match after all. I do have to admit, there wasn't much that surprised me on this album... other than the lack of guitar solo in the first full song anyway. There are so many bands aiming to pay homage to 80s Heavy Metal around, it can be hard to differentiate them. There wasn't a lot of elements to "World in Chains" that would make them memorable for me personally. I liked it, it was a good rock out kind of album, but there wasn't anything that stood out from any other NWOTHM album around. Everyone played well, but I won't be itching to pick it up again tomorrow or anytime soon.