Conquest of Steel - May Your Blade Never Dull
No Face Records - NFRCD006 - 2006
by Amanda J. Carlson
As something to tide fans over until their next album, Conquest of Steel has put together this five song EP. With their second full-length album due this year, this five-piece consider themselves the 'warriors' of the British traditional metal scene. Though their style does follow closely in the vein of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, the raw, rough production proves that they are still fairly new and have improvements to make.
The first song, 'May Your Blade Never Dull,' is the teaser for their upcoming album. As this is a first mix of the song, the dual guitar melodies that don't match up and the vocals that are buried under the riffs are forgivable. Two songs, 'Priests of Metal' and 'Halfway to Hell' are tracks exclusive to this EP only. The former is the best of all five; though the riffs are simple and repeated often, it's super catchy and the guitar solo should not be overlooked. Also included here are two old songs rerecorded for this release, one being the studio version of their live anthem 'Steel is the Law.'
One of the most important things to note about Conquest of Steel is the lyrics. When a heavy metal band writes almost exclusively about being warriors of metal or just warriors in general, it's perhaps as cheesy as cheesy can be. It's very difficult to look past that and just enjoy the music as a whole because the lyrics are just too funny. "Leather is our uniform, with spikes and beer we won’t conform, metal army is on its way…" Can't get any better than that. If anything that's what actually makes the band a worthwhile listen. Musically they just don’t offer anything new to make them stand out among traditional metal bands.
Official Conquest of Steel Website
Official No Face Records Website
No Face Records - NFRCD006 - 2006
by Amanda J. Carlson
As something to tide fans over until their next album, Conquest of Steel has put together this five song EP. With their second full-length album due this year, this five-piece consider themselves the 'warriors' of the British traditional metal scene. Though their style does follow closely in the vein of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, the raw, rough production proves that they are still fairly new and have improvements to make.
The first song, 'May Your Blade Never Dull,' is the teaser for their upcoming album. As this is a first mix of the song, the dual guitar melodies that don't match up and the vocals that are buried under the riffs are forgivable. Two songs, 'Priests of Metal' and 'Halfway to Hell' are tracks exclusive to this EP only. The former is the best of all five; though the riffs are simple and repeated often, it's super catchy and the guitar solo should not be overlooked. Also included here are two old songs rerecorded for this release, one being the studio version of their live anthem 'Steel is the Law.'
One of the most important things to note about Conquest of Steel is the lyrics. When a heavy metal band writes almost exclusively about being warriors of metal or just warriors in general, it's perhaps as cheesy as cheesy can be. It's very difficult to look past that and just enjoy the music as a whole because the lyrics are just too funny. "Leather is our uniform, with spikes and beer we won’t conform, metal army is on its way…" Can't get any better than that. If anything that's what actually makes the band a worthwhile listen. Musically they just don’t offer anything new to make them stand out among traditional metal bands.
Official Conquest of Steel Website
Official No Face Records Website
