Ironsword hails from Portugal, and this is their third full-length release of epic METAL. (Ironsword is too METAL for lower-case letters.) Manilla Road comparisons abound, and they’re more than justified, as Ironsword evokes the METAL stylings of that legendary Midwestern American outfit. (To further the comparisons and the connection, Manilla vocalist Mark Shelton makes guest appearances on several songs on Overlords.)
This latest Ironsword offering is filled with majestic sing-along choruses that bring to mind images of demons and warriors and swords and fire and all things kick-ass. Vocalist/guitarist Tann (also of Moonspell, among other acts) has a gruff, lower-register voice that doesn’t soar so much as just overpower. Like those of Manilla’s Shelton, Tann’s vocals may well be the biggest obstacle to many first-time listeners’ immediate appreciation of the music. In addition to the Portuguese accent, which crops up from time to time to make some phrasing awkward and some pronunciation odd, Tann’s clean vocals have a flat quality to them that definitely separates them from the usual Dickinson/Halford trad-metal wail. Luckily he spends more time in a throaty roar than in the cleans, but either of his voices is a bit off-putting at first, although with a few listens, both rapidly end up among the album’s highlights.
The production is perfect: raw without being ragged, more garage-level than slick and pretty. Everything sounds great and punchy, and the slightly rougher production affords the music an edge that a more polished effort would sorely lack. The musicianship is solid without being flashy. This isn’t tech-metal—it’s just balls-out heavy metal done right—and Tann, bassist Rick Thor and drummer Maalm are exactly as good as they need to be to kick your ass across the room.
A great production and tight musicianship are all well and good (and here they are both), but where Overlords truly hits the proverbial home run is in two other areas—songwriting and spirit. Their success in the first category is overwhelmingly impressive, with the hard-driving and melodic side by side, fist-pumping and anthemic without being grimace-inducing and clichéd. Songs like the title track or “Dark Shadows Of Stygia” possess instantly memorable choruses, offset by riffing that is simple without being simplistic. Simply put, there are no bad songs here. Not a single one of these tracks is weak; not a single one wavers; not a single one fails.
As far as the band’s spirit is concerned, I challenge you to find a more METAL release this year. (Even Manilla’s Voyager didn’t knock me in the dirt like this one does, so perhaps the students have outdone the masters on this go ‘round.) Detractors may say that this is nearly power metal in its goofiness, and while it’s undoubtedly serious, it’s not deadly so, and it doesn’t come off as such. It comes off as gleefully and reverently indebted to the glory of METAL, ready to beat you over the head with near-thrash riffing and songs about Lovecraft and Vikings, and that’s more than enough for me.
Also, on a note of only minor importance: with all the praise rightfully heaped upon the majestic artwork for Amon Amarth‘s Twilight Of The Thunder God, allow me to point out the fundamental flaw of that piece of Viking-themed brilliance. For all its glory, it doesn’t have boobies on it. This one does. Quite a few of them, in fact… Folks, we have a serious contender here for Most Awesomestly METAL Album Cover Of The Year…
Ironsword absolutely kills. Buy this immediately, and then sing along with me, “Overlords… of CHAAAA-OSSSSS!” Excellent.
