Return of the legendary Blitzkrieg.
Founded in 1979 as Split Image, the band changed its name when vocalist Brian Ross (Satan, ex-Avenger) joined. Now the sole « founding » member, he is joined by his son Alan Ross (guitar, Tysondog), as well as Matt Graham (drums, King of the Wild Hunt), Liam Ferguson (bass) and Nick Jennison (guitar) to announce the release of Blitzkrieg, the band’s eleventh album, on Mighty Music.
The album kicks off in the purest NWOBHM tradition with You Won’t Take Me Alive, which blends solid riffs, melodies and motivating vocal parts joined by backing vocals before launching into screaming climaxes. The leads take us to the energetic The Spider, where the band adopts some Thrash influences to give its solid rhythm a more aggressive dimension, as on Dragon’s Eye, which immediately follows to draw us into its motivating charge. Heady harmonies graft perfectly onto the lively basis, then the band adopts a dry groove thanks to the rhythm section to make If I Told You a perfect track to unite at gigs. Vocals and guitars respond naturally to each other, while bass and drums lead the way to Vertigo, which picks up the pace again and features some more technical parts, notably during the solos and the final break where the different voices blend together. A radio sample gives us a moment’s respite before Above The Law takes over with jerky Old School patterns from which the leads explode from time to time, but the track surprises us with a few calmer moments that create a contrast with the virulent I Am His Voice. The musicians take advantage of the higher tempo to unleash their furious harmonies, but there’s a darker passage before the finale, as well as the oppressive atmosphere of The Night He Came Home, which is easily associated with old horror films like Halloween (the most ardent fans will already have recognized the guitar theme). The album closes with the lengthy On Olympus High – Aphrodite’s Kiss, where the band blend their influences to create a more haunting, symphonic approach over the course of eight and a half minutes of soaring melodies.
With their experience, Blitzkrieg were eagerly awaited, but the band rose to the challenge and delivered a rhythmic, catchy album. Blitzkrieg perfectly follows the rules of Heavy Metal while allowing themselves a few interesting liberties.
75/100