Iron Mask – “Black As Death”

Just to be perfectly clear right from the beginning of this review: I am not normally a power metal fan. Generally I can’t stand the stuff and think it’s cheesy, pretentious bullshit more concerned with flash and pomp than actual songs. The only other sub-genre of metal that I hate more is Deathcore (shudders). So, if I hate power metal so much, why the hell am I giving Iron Mask’s Black As Death a 7.5? Simple: This is some fucking great music. That’s why!

Instead of just focusing on guitar wankery and soaring “nails on chalkboard” high-pitched vocals, these guys actually focus on the song. Sure, there are tons of solos and you can bet that guitarist Dushan Petrossi wants nothing more than for people to be wowed by his playing, but man, the catchiness of this stuff is at times just unbelievable! Songs like “Ghengis Khan”, “Broken Hero” and the title track “Black As Death” are way better than I ever would have believed a power metal band could produce.

The disc’s only downside is that with a couple of filler tracks, it starts to bog down a bit in the middle. As a result at 13 songs it feels a bit too long. If some of the fat was trimmed off this album would have been far stronger than it is. Too bad, yet not too surprising as power metal wouldn’t be power metal without some excess, now would it?

Track Listing:

01. From Light Into The Dark
02. Black As Death
03. Broken Hero
04. Feel The Fire
05. Genghis Kahn
06. God Punishes, I kill
07. Rebel Kid
08. Blizzard of Doom
09. The Absence
10. Magic Sky Requiem
11. Nosferatu
12. When All Braves Fall
13. Evil Strikes in Silence

Run Time: 65:34
Release Date: December 16, 2011

Check out the song: “Black As Death”