No matter how undemanding the music is, implementing the greatness of 80s true traditional Metal is rather a hard task, especially if the will is to produce a super album. That is the reason why many of the true Metal loyalists released moderate, and sometimes even crappy, material while not really providing the proper demonstration of how really the 80s era felt like and how glorious its influence turned out to be more than just a phase in Metal music. METALHEAD, from Lower Saxony, Germany, have been maintaining a vision to protect and serve the interest of 80s Metal. Their self-titled debut, "Metalhead", via Killer Metal Records, is their first deadly axe to present to the world's old school stalwarts. Following the likes of MANOWAR, JUDAS PRIEST and 70s BLACK ROSE along with the darkened cosmos of the early Danish efforts of MERCYFUL FATE / KING DIAMOND, it seemed that nothing is going to halt the ambitious METALHEAD on spreading their wicked chants to their listeners. Nonetheless, I had the feeling that this release will be more than just the little above normal type.

METALHEAD's greatest asset, probably right from the get go, has been their lead vocalist, Stefan Sadzio. Can he be declared as the newfound Rob Halford, the next generation of King Diamond or maybe the upcoming Eric Adams? Only time will tell but one thing is certain, this guy has got the lungs, voice and the right attitude that is the iron fist in the velvet glove which is METALHEAD. Next is the band's sound, which only a few bands, nowadays can be found in the on growing NWOBHM oriented Metal movement in Sweden, were able to accomplish. It feels so great to hear the thin, but brittle guitars, haloed by a strong bass, tormenting drums and the vocals in right there in their lawful place at the front end.

On the other hand, I was not that thrilled by the eminence of the material at hand. What METALHEAD has been showing on this album, from top to bottom, is more or less an utter sagacity for overly simplistic compositions and decent structures. Though there are attempts that showcased nice epic examples such as "Mistress Of The Storm", "Witch Hunt"and "Lonesome Warrior", those weren't that persuasive as there were sections where I lost interest due to the notion as if things got a little out of hand, or better put, a loss of direction. In the contrary, there are awesome displays of amazing sweeping Heavy Metal as "Surrender to the Dark", "Hunter" along with the finishing touches of "Awakening Of Thunder", which resembled some of the early speedy MANOWAR efforts, sometimes simplicity do work and it can actually be quite powerful. Such sheer force is truly hard to contradict. So there you have it, a traditional Metal release by a band not afraid to let everyone know what the truest of the true, even it may sound like yet another cliché, in this kind of music without the cocky stuff on the side. For a first effort it turned out good but in the long run, I suggest a little more enthusiasm and excitement.