Apart from the magical beast close to a dragon probably known to Dungeons And Dragons players, the name 'WYVERN' has been used as band name several times in the Metal realms. One of these is for the Italians here, a band that started in the mid 80s with two demos back then and their debut "The Red Flame Of Pain" being released in 1990 as an independent LP. The album was very difficult to be found so Jolly Roger Records decided to make a re-release in CD format and give a second chance to these recordings.

Well, it is the truth that the Italian 80s Metal scene gave some very good albums and bands. Some of them are well known like DEATH SS or BULLDOZER and others are more obscure like DARK QUARTERER, BLACK HOLE or OLD YRON.WYVERN may not stand in these quality levels but I think they have something to offer if you like Power/Heavy Metal. Although in the beginning you may ('cause of the sound or the singer's voice) find them a little boring (and in fact some of these songs could have been much better), if you give some attention you will come across some wonderful compositions.

To make clearer the above mentioned fact, "The Red Flame Of Pain" starts with "Fight For Your Life" that we surely cannot say it is the best option for a beginner or it is something that will take your breath; Probably the opposite, without meaning that it is horrible. But what follows is what this album is all about. Firstly the epic "Wyvern", a very good one with fantastic guitar themes that despite its eight minutes length is so well written that you can resist.Then "Behind Bars", with a main riff pure Heavy Metal and together with the calm part in the middle making it very special. Last, the ballad "It's A Waste Of Time", although it could have had much better vocals, includes some nice melodies. As for the rest, the two instrumentals "Prophecy" and "... And The End" could be missing and specially the second one is a little bit boring. The last one, "Adolescent Sex", apart from the childish lyrics has a main riff that is cool enough but nothing more interesting.

If you like digging the underground, you are a fun of the 80s (the album was released in 1990 but it has absolutely the aura of the previous decade) and you want a more Heavy Metal version of "The Walls Of Jericho" together with some IRON MAIDEN guitars, then give it a try.