This is the first release Metal Temple mag is reviewing by Iron Age Records. The London-based label is a new independent brand specializing in the epic/Viking/folk path of Heavy Metal, and NO REMORSE NO RETREAT's full-length debut, To Glory We Ride comes in a beautiful digipack edition with impressive artwork handled by Jan Darkgrove (MANOWAR, KORPIKLAANI, TYR, COMMUNIC, EVERON, ANCIENT CREATION, DANCE MACABRE). So, the wrapping is charming; what about the music?
'NO REMORSE' was the England/Wales band's initial name. Extending it to the current one, there's seems to be some kinda of secrecy regarding the quintet's lineup (one member is said to live/work in the Land of the Rising Sun), since nowhere (CD booklet, official website, MySpace page, label website) could I find sufficient info regarding the musicians. A Press release states NO REMORSE NO RETREAT deals with 'battle' Metal, also featuring elements from NWOBHM and some punk reference. Wielding Gibsons like modern day axes and armed with Mesa-Boogie Rectifiers, the onslaught has begun!, reads a manifest in the band's site. Is this call to arms enough to evaluate quality and consciousness?
Well, To Glory We Ride is a nice album, after all. In its own personal way, the band delivers an 'underground' sample of Heavy Metal, in very deed based on the British standards of the 80s, filtered through some epic/folk drips while bearing a sound fuzzy enough to create the 'punk' link. If you try to imagine references to the so-called 'true Metal' scene of current European Heavy/Power/Epic Metal bands, I don think there's much in common here. NO REMORSE NO RETREAT carries Britain's smell in this CD, so this and only differentiates them from the typical 'battlefield' Metal bands of Germany, Italy, Sweden or Greece.
It is not east to come up with 'band' comparisons, to tell you the truth - OK, bands like  HEAVY LOAD, SKYCLAD (in a couple of tunes), BATTLEXAXE, OMEN, MOTORHEAD, METALUCIFER, TRUST and RAVEN just pop up. NO REMORSE NO RETREAT is definitely 'retro' Heavy, with filthy beer-drinking vocals in mid-range, fuzzy guitars with 'analogue' attitude and striking riffs and bass/drums lines applicable for old-school metalheads. Storylines of wars, battles, attacks, malignance and revenge are here; nothing should fit better than this lyrics concept. Thankfully, no ...ah ah ah... choir novelties over here, like dozens of the Epic Metal family of today; To Glory We Ride can attract even bikers, to an extend, in its dirty sound and 'mean business' attitude.
To sum it up: NO REMORSE NO RETREAT, To Glory We Ride, British old-school Metal based on NWOBHM but with a 'battle' mood, some folk references, a punk-ish vibe in the sound/chords, lyrics 'bout the wrath of war. That's it, I guess. And - yes - 'retro' metallers, 'epic' Metal warriors and 'folk' devotees can proceed to checkout; a genuine album all the way.