One thing that you may not be able to deduce about IRON KOBRA just from their name and their latest album cover is the sound of their music. The art and song titles mean it must be Death Metal, right? Wrong. The German band's Facebook page categorizes them simply and non-committedly as "Heavy Metal", but even a shallow listen reveals that a number of Punk influences are at work here, in particular with the vocal style as well as the tempo of many of the songs.

The first track named "Words of Wisdom" can hardly be called a track really, as it is six or seven seconds of "Attention, attention. The following record is meant to be played on 10" being read ominously. It serves as a nice introduction to the album as well as to the manifesto of the band, who are clearly all about the noise and attitude of their music.

Sir Serpent does a good job with the variety of his vocal style, however it has to be said that it isn't as audible as perhaps it could be. This may be an intentional decision to place the music at the front of the stage, and if so then the vocals' purpose is almost void, which is probably why he also plays the guitar (rather well, I might add). The fact that the vocals are so turned down and inaudible makes the reason for most of them being in English quite odd, as in the majority of tracks they're not worth trying to discern. Perhaps to pay tribute to their home country, one of the standout tracks "Wut im Bauch" is sung in German, but it stands alone in that respect. In any case, the vocals don't get in the way of the music and are audible enough to add to it.

The overall vibe of the band seems to centre on the pounding drums and catchy riffs. They're not out to spread some meaningful message or convert the masses; they just want to have a bit of fun. This is evident just from the band members' names, but is all the more clear from the sound of the music and from the few lyrics that are understandable. While the songs are of a good quality and are mixed well, a song or two that differed from the rest would have been welcome to spice things up a bit, as all too soon you become used to the sound before you and begin to appreciate its merits less and less. What is here is good; but it could be better. And that's not always a criticism.