As the blade penetrates the flesh, it is the end of yet another bloodletting but an inauguration of another one. There won't be only one casualty in the war for Metal, many would lose themselves to endless bowls of blood, and Metal will be protected and served right or none at all. This sounds a bit dramatic, troubling, quite cruel and somewhat grotesque but of course metaphorically speaking nonetheless. The struggle to be the best there is, to be tested around countless of rivals, seems endless. There is no real winner in this wretched prizefight, just a royal rumble of bands waiting to be heard by a crowded mob of fans aching to accept what is true, that fits the code of Heavy Metal. Though both you and I know that the code of Metal, yeah that allegory created in the early 80s, has been breached since the 90s, but who said that it died. The veteran Power Metal band SACRED STEEL from Germany, being out there in the wastelands since 1997, has been taking steps to be one of Metal's champions. I believe that they share the old guard's perception about a code and maybe why a war should be fought to preserve it. Newly signed to Cruz Del Sur Music, the trouper warlords issue the horrendous showcase, like an old B movie presentation, "The Bloodshed Summoning". Another message or war, resulting in a quite harsh par as the band's latest offerings such as "Carnage Victory" and "Hammer Of Destruction", but to think of it, this one was a bit brutal then the previous runners.

Less sounding in the vein of MANOWAR and walking the walk of their countrymen WIZARD as on the early days of "Reborn In Steel" and "Wargods Of Metal", SACRED STEEL took a different turn with their Metal perspective into a butchering ride with angered Thrash Metal deliverances that might hint of KREATOR, SLAYER and a slender DESTRUCTION rabid obsessions. On the other hand, SACRED STEEL haven't forgotten about the true essence of their style and still maintained a certain run-through of their older selves while still providing melodic passages, though fairly restricted and less passionate than prior showpieces of the past, and 80s traditional Metal oriented rhythms. I felt as if SACRED STEEL, with "The Bloodshed Summoning", attempted to cross an imaginary line where they become tougher, angrier and dynamic in order to reach out to more fans of several other Metal subgenres. In general, if following the latter idea really existed, it was a nice try indeed because they showed promise with their variation of thrashing, riff and rhythm wise along with chaotic form of vocals that weren't that apparent in the band's earlier discography. Well not completely their own version mainly since their thrashed riffing didn't renew anything at all, but still played true to the late 80s / early 90s derivation of the subgenre.

Without warning or an overwhelming intro, the album bombarded with "Storm Of Fire 1916". In my bill it was the band's strongest boon over the rest of the tracks taking its tall with machine gun rapid firing drumming, trill and palm muted parades, cruel vocals that really surprised me at first because I actually thought that Mille Petrozza and Tom Angelripper made guest appearances along with Gerrit P. Mutz's howling vocals. Well ostensibly not, as everything came from that soaring throat of the longstanding singer. Moving forward through the album I didn't find too much moving moments right until I reached the borders of the track "The Bloodshed Summoning" that entered with a chorus effected acoustic intro, plainly magical but ohh too short, but I could object endless about it without anyone hearing me. Gladly that it revealed itself later on the song. Nonetheless, the track offered some great riffs and a thrust pounded by the chorus line. This is a well performed Heavy / Power Metal song with slashes of unholy Thrash to raise the ferocious urges of yours, the devoted listener, but please no brawling. "The Night They Came To Kill" slammed its way to recognition with a elementary KREATORish nature sealing the fate of the victims with an arousing peak moment of clearness right before the very end with a victorious, yet forlorn like chorus bearing a contagious melodic lead. To think about it, this is rather interesting, a melancholic moment within a Thrash oriented song; this ought to be a special twinkling. "Unbinding The Chains" is yet another profane feature in the new face of SACRED STEEL, pure aggression with bestial sounding guitars played with might, well done chorus filled with evil and determination. Considered as a bonus track, but ended up being on the album's preeminent examples.

In a nutshell, SACRED STEEL became fiercer and unrelenting with a cracking production on this charming orchestrated horror show. Fusing elements of Thrash Metal into their old pattern made this release a cause of interest and there are examples to prove that, yet even so, the Thrash elements remained under the same level. Still thriving with aggression, SACRED STEEL should return to the old 80s Metal melodies that will undoubtedly win over fans of melodic Heavy Metal and Thrashers a like.