VICTORY is the melodic heavy metal brainchild of Herman Frank, long term guitarist for German ensemble called ACCEPT. He started the band in 1984 and they were quite successful from the start. During their time a lot happened. They released ten full length studio albums, three live albums and even split up in 1996, but in 2003 it was decided to start again. However, it all went, the last record to be released was way back in 2011, so a little over 10 years ago. But they have finally corrected this error and have come back with their eleventh studio album "Gods of Tomorrow", and to put it plainly: they kick arse! This is very high quality straight forward heavy metal. No thrills, no spills, no fillers. The sound o0f it all is more than great, and the very pleasant voice of Gianni Pontillo tops that. He has a distinctive tone with a bit of Brian Johnson (AC/DC) in him, but he is a lot easier to understand.

You really won't be able to tell that VICTORY formed in 1984, as they have adopted a real contemporary sound. Yes, even playing pure and unadulterated old fashioned heavy metal they make it sound young, hungry and fresh. And yes, of course they do have a lot of references to ACCEPT and in a lesser content AC/DC, but still they are able to sound very 2022. To me that's a proper achievement. When you then add that the songs have real punch, hefty body and a consistent drive to them that makes you just want to get up and tap your foot, play along with the drums and bang your head at the same time, and you might appreciate how addictive I feel this is. Especially when the succession of songs "Love & Hate", the title track "Gods of Tomorrow", "Cut To The Bone", "Dying In Your Arms" and "Hold Of Me" make for about 20 minutes of heavenly noise! That's not to say that the rest is any less, but those five songs in a row have me smiling broadly and thinking back to the eponymous side one of the debut album of METAL CHURCH, where every song was a direct hit to the heart. This has the same impact.

As far as an album goes this is by far a real VICTORY, and these old guys might be the next "Gods of Tomorrow". Stranger things have happened.