MARTYR is a Classic Metal band, from Germany. This is one of their debut EP's entitled "Highway Warriors" which contains 3 tracks and was released independently on March 2^nd 2020. The opener "Highway Warriors" has some interesting guitar melodies that are obviously influenced by the almighty IRON MAIDEN (you can say any band that uses dual guitar melodies is in some way influenced by these legends). The element that really stands out are the impressively high-pitched vocals. In many ways, I find the style akin to the early days of HELLOWEEN. The song also possesses some great solo action, some groovy bass portions and a memorable chorus. I do not think you could ask for much more in an opening track.

"Strike of the Whip" has a slower tempo than its predecessor, but it still relies quite a bit on some dual guitar work. The vocals have a bit of an echo effect in them that adds that nostalgic flavor often found in the early works of KING DIAMOND. Some fuzz elements in the guitar sound also a nice layer to the overall atmosphere of the song "Heavy Metal Outlaw" is the track that really has that 1980's aspect to it. It has that hard rock feel. I would say it is somewhat similar to VAN HALEN. I have used this imagery before but what usually stands out for me is if a song is just tailor-made to be played in car with the windows down. This is one of those songs that brought me back well over 20 years ago when I was listening to JUDAS PRIEST. There is a pleasant Zakk Wylde side to the guitar work in this one, especially in the tones used and the technique.

To be honest, I had no clue what to expect when I saw the label classic metal for this project. I was really surprised at how the songs just flow tremendously well. It does not fall too much in the 80s clichés, which is also quite a feat, as it is easy to sound more like a parody than a modern twist on an old genre, but this band pulls it off very well.