I hate it when I have to find out everything about a band when I am reviewing them, just because I didn’t receive any information when the music came in. Thankfully the internet is a great help, but a good bio, with track list and line up my work would become a whole lot easier. In the case of SIGN OF THE JACKAL we are talking about an Italian band from Trentino in South Tirol. They are part of the current NWOTHM movement, so Classical Heavy Metal it is, all the way. SIGN OF THE JACKAL has been spreading their noise since 2008 and with “Heavy Metal Survivors” they are presenting us their third studio album to date. As this is my first encounter with these Italians I have not been privileged to listen to their 2013 offering “Mark Of The Beast” or indeed to their sophomore album “Breaking The Spell”, which dates from 2018.

As for the music on “Heavy Metal Survivors”, it is as straight forward as an arrow. Hard driven riffs, flanked by thumping bass sounds and very inspired drumming is what SIGN OF THE JACKAL is shooting at you. it works, and it will have you interested in a heartbeat. The one thing that might cause you to pause and consider your options is the voice of Laura Coller. It is quite highly pitched, whilst simultaneously being rather forceful and I would say pushy. It is an acquired taste, one of which I became quite a lot more accustomed to by every listening session. What her voice certainly does do it take you back in time to the early eighties, when you had a lot more of people who sang like she does.

As for the songs themselves, there is nothing wrong there either. The cliches will be flying by left, right and centre, but always in a way that fits the structure of the songs, making the music sound quite strong indeed. So far, so good, but I have to admit that nowhere along this musical journey has “Heavy Metal Survivors” grabbed me by the gonads and given me a raised member or even heartbeat. SIGN OF THE JACKAL plays very nice Traditional Heavy Metal that will undoubtedly please the real fans of this genre. So, if you do like to take the NWOTHM direction you can do a lot worse than listening to “Heavy Metal Survivors”. If you are not one of those, give this and SIGN OF THE JACKAL to prove themselves to you before making your mind up.