Here I thought the Visigoths disappeared 17 centuries ago; it appears there are some left in Salt Lake City, Utah, playing some Heavy fuckin' Metal.

Metal Blade made a sound decision here; VISIGOTH were recently brought on board to release their debut full-length, "The Revenant King", under the renowned label, due late January next year. A pity; it would have made it onto my "top 10 of 2014" list.

It's not any kind of Power, Thrash, Folk, Black or otherwise-extreme variants of Norse-themed metal that might come to mind in hearing the name and seeing the cover. They are about as classic as classic metal can get; admittedly, however, I hear a lot of labelmates early AMON AMARTH in the riff work of this album, especially in the opening (and title) track. A powerful build-up sets the Goth off on his horse at a steady canter; the horse, a massive, muscle-laden beast clad in spiked armor; the rider atop it wearing even more, and carrying 3 battleaxes. As heavy as the track is, the chord progressions are incredibly catchy; the kind of resonating you could expect from a vocally-powerful chorus.

The vocals themselves, of course, are a strong point of this band; Jake commands a rather 'regal' and commanding-sounding voice, undoubtedly fitting for the music being played. His prowess is perhaps best exemplified in "Blood Sacrifice"; in the balladic intro, I even hear a little Roy Khan in there, but he tends to rough up the notes with grit and gruff. The track itself comes across as a glorious piece of NWOBHM-inspired battery, both fast-paced and driving.

"Mammoth Rider" stands out as my ultimate favourite on the album. Slower and drudgier, it of course projects the illusion of being 'that much' heavier; carried over in the riffs in a way that adds a few megatons worth of explosion from the hammer blow. Essentially what I would think of as a 'metal ballad' - acoustic guitars and croony vocals replaced by heavy, overdriven riffs; it still retains a folky, campfire-storytelling method of musical and lyrical delivery; at least until the incisive gallops start dropping.

Come "Necropolis", a massive smile grew across my face. The name originally didn't give it away, but as soon as the lyrics started flying, I audibly exclaimed "MANILLA FUCKIN' ROAD MATE". VISIGOTH could not have chosen a better track to cover for this album; what I love about it, is how they made it heavier and muddier; more riff focussed, as opposed to being embellished with the glorious melodies of the forebears.

I love this album. It's fresh, invigorating and hell, even inspiring; there live shows mustn't be something to miss, either, I imagine.