Two years after their second release, an eight-song, self-titled demo recording, French band EXISTANCE return with "Steel Alive", their first proper studio album. The band has been active since 2008, starting out covering classic Hard Rock and Heavy Metal tunes before attracting record label attention with their second demo. The group signed to Mausoleum Records in January of 2014.

"Steel Alive" is gritty, working man's Metal in the vein of such late 70's / early-80's titans as JUDAS PRIEST, SAXON, Y&T, and ARMORED SAINT. Those names get your attention? While the material here may not reach the lofty heights of these bands' most classic works, it does sound like a record of the caliber that one of these bands could have released in their prime years, which is definitely a compliment.

EXISTANCE have the right 'feel' very well, for sure, and the band's musicianship is great the whole way through. Guitarists Antoine Poiret and Julian Izard's dual-guitar attack sounds full and crunchy throughout, and their riffs are consistently on-point. Their leads are strong as well, never really dazzling but definitely well played as well as being conscious of where in the song they are putting them. Izard's vocals are fantastic, and the rhythm section pounds away with confidence.

"Legends Never Die", the opening track, kicks things off with a fast-picked riff that's about as Metal as it gets, and really memorable, too. The song as a whole, as well as the entire album, has this great sense of urgency to it, and you can really feel it in this one riff in particular, with the drums pounding away in the background. "Black Viper" is a mid-tempo tune that chugs along with more hard-hitting riff and another impressive vocal performance from the talented Izard.

Things kind of level off with "Dead or Alive", which boasts one of the better solos on the album, but pick back up quickly with the one-two combo of "Slaughter" and "Burning Angel". "Slaughter" is another adrenaline-driven, hard-hitting offering, while the catchy, more subdued "Burning Angel" wins with its melody and powerful riffing. The latter half of the album is strong track-to-track in many of the ways mentioned above, with standouts including "Get Away", "Close to the End", and "From Hell".

Top to bottom, EXISTANCE have put together a pretty good debut with "Steel Alive". Their songwriting skills show considerable polish, the band plays really well, and they keep it heavy at all times. There is very little inessential material here at all. I would recommend this record to any fans of classic Heavy Metal, it's definitely worth checking out.