Out of the Ashes, Into the Fire

This is a new US band who are very into early Euro classic metal like UDO, Accept, and Saxon. This is a crunchy, headbanging, riff-oriented affair that has no ambition to break any molds, it just wants to have a good time. The vocals are that kind of rough and ready snarl which very much reminds me of Udo or Biff Byford in the old days. Some of the leads on here are really kickass, and the band shows a real flair for pounding, propulsive riffs. The songwriting isn't as good as the riff-writing though, and the composition doesn't produce any real classics, instead being content with a lot of repetition. The vocals show a lot of character and attitude, but their range is severely limited, and this becomes impossible to ignore about halfway through. You can hear the band crashing off the limits of their ability, and that can be a good sign. This album isn't that awesome, but it is solid, and this band might do better than that next time out.