Sometimes life just isn’t fair. In the case of TWISTED TOWER DIRE the following is the matter: unfortunately this band is one of those Old School Heavy Metal Bands that have been overlooked by a large portion of the Heavy Metal Community. And to be fair, these Americans from Raleigh, North Carolina don’t deserve to be left out of the Premier League of Heavy metal. This year they will have been active for 29 years. During this time they have pleased us with no less than seven studio albums and a live recording. And not to make too fine a point about it, but I can reveal that they all are ranging from good to downright outstanding.

“The Isle Of Hydra” is their second album, and it was originally released in 2001. Even listening to the music just now I can only conclude that their brand of Heavy Metal has stood the test of time without any problem. I have to admit that the alternate mix from the original sessions and a brand-new master have made the album even stronger than it was. But then again, I was already very much impressed with the original one, so even if they wouldn’t have changed a thing, I would have been a happy man/fan.

What really is a treat is to hear the voice of Tony Taylor again, the man who passed away on February 6th 2010. I know, he had already left the ranks of TWISTED TOWER DIRE by then, but he was and still is a very strong part of the attraction that is “The Isle Of Hydra”. His voice just seems to gel to the music like honey to a comb. The added extra of the rehearsal versions of four of the songs on the album, which fill up the rest of the album, are good in showing how much dedication TWISTED TOWER DIRE puts into their music. All together I can only say that I am very grateful to NAMELESS GRAVE RECORDS for rereleasing “The Isle Of Hydra”, a gem of a Heavy Metal album.

I therefore wish to ask of you as a full-blown Old School Heavy Metal or NWOTHM fan to have a good rummage through your brain cells and find a proper place to store the music of TWISTED TOWER DIRE. No, you won’t feel they have discovered a new kind of wheel, but they are making forementioned wheel turn as fluently as possible. If you do so, you will find that this reissue of “The Isle Of Hydra” is a very good starting point.