By: Rob Thompson
Iron Kingdom | website | facebook | twitter |
Released on July 31, 2015 via Tridroid Records
Citing classic metal influences such as Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Saxon amongst others, Iron Kingdom unleash Ride For Glory via Tridroid Records on July 31 2015.
Iron Kingdom are a traditional heavy metal band from Surrey, B.C. Canada. Formed in 2011 by Chris Osterman they contain along with Amanda Osterman and Leighton Holmes, with Kenny Kroecher adding a classic duel lead guitar sound.
December 2011 saw the release of their debut album Curse Of The Voodoo Queen. Shortly after Iron Kingdom featured on National TV for Canada’s Got Talent. Iron Kingdom headed back into the studio to record their second full length album titled Gates Of Eternity. This was released on April 2013. Since then Iron Kingdom has toured through Canada, Western USA and Europe (Including a performance at the Iconic KEEP IT TRUE XVII in Germany).
Ride For Glory is a themed album which focuses on warriors from around the world. Actual historical events feature in many of the songs along with amusing extras, such as the sporadic sounds of battles and clashes of swords.
The album kicks off instrumentally and the classic sounding riffs, drums and solos soon follow. For me, it’s always been the vocals which define the 80s metal sound. Ride For Glory delivers in this respect. The band thunders on through bygone wars with white-knuckle guitar work and a solid rhythm section. All songs follow the same epic blueprint. ‘Night Attack’ and ‘The Veiled Knight’ reminded me the most of Iron Maiden, which of course is a good thing.
Ride For Glory may be clichéd. It may be old school. And you may have heard variations on most of the riffs before. But that’s the point. It’s designed to pay homage to the golden age of metal. Sure, it’s unlikely to be hailed as an all-time classic, but I for one could listen to this type of heavy metal all day. So if you claim to be a metal fan do your ears a favour and give Ride For Glory a listen.
