Napalm are releasing some really cool stuff as of late, the last Serenity release was phenomenal and Grave Digger's Ballad of a Hangman showed that they still had plenty of steam left. Now we're treated to what will no doubt rank high amongst the top Power Metal releases this year – Iron Fire's To The Grave. Overshadowing the new Hammerfall release, we see Iron Fire at the top of their game, proving Power Metal is still cool. Thundering drums, cracking riffs and mighty vocals is what Iron Fire are all about, with each and every track absolutely slaying. Also worth mentioning is that To The Grave is vastly superior to the previous release Blade of Triumph, growing on you with every listen.
You can tell immediately from the get go that these guys love the style of metal they play, paying homage to all the greats. "The Beast from the Blackness" destroys just about every Power Metal song I've heard in the last year or so with fantastic riffs, a highly memorable chorus and an awesome mid-section rounded off with a majestic guitar solo. To The Grave just gets better from here onwards; "Kill For Metal" will have your head flailing with a banging riff and another quality chorus. The title track is a definite highlight for me, I love the main riff – it really kicks. It also features one of the finest choruses in Iron Fire's arsenal, guaranteed to be stuck in your head for days. From here onwards Iron Fire prove their mettle catapulting themselves into the premier league of Power Metal acts, with fantastic cracking choruses, molten guitar work, and rhythm section to die for. There's also subtle use of keyboards that can be detected throughout which help intensify the sound, giving an added depth. Tracks such as "March of the Immortals", "Frozen in Time", and "The Demon Master" show these guys firing on all cylinders, with their take-no-prisoners approach to songwriting. If you even have a passing interest in Power Metal, To The Grave deserves a look. Featuring everything good about the genre in one package, you'd be a moron not to pick this up. Highly Recommended
