(Heavy Metal) Steel Assassin - In Hellfire Forged - 2009, FLAC (image+.cue+scans) lossless

REM GENRE "Heavy Metal"
REM DATE 2009
REM DISCID 5D08C908
REM COMMENT "ExactAudioCopy v0.99pb5"
PERFORMER "Steel Assassin"
TITLE "In Hellfire Forged"
FILE "Steel Assassin - In Hellfire Forged.flac" WAVE
TRACK 01 AUDIO
TITLE "Spartacus"
PERFORMER "Steel Assassin"
INDEX 01 00:00:00
TRACK 02 AUDIO
TITLE "Phaeton"
PERFORMER "Steel Assassin"
INDEX 01 04:17:00
TRACK 03 AUDIO
TITLE "Crusader"
PERFORMER "Steel Assassin"
INDEX 00 08:20:40
INDEX 01 08:20:54
TRACK 04 AUDIO
TITLE "Heavy Metal Soldiers From Hell"
PERFORMER "Steel Assassin"
INDEX 01 12:41:00
TRACK 05 AUDIO
TITLE "Burn Witch Burn"
PERFORMER "Steel Assassin"
INDEX 00 17:31:50
INDEX 01 17:32:56
TRACK 06 AUDIO
TITLE "Attila The Hun"
PERFORMER "Steel Assassin"
INDEX 01 21:23:31
TRACK 07 AUDIO
TITLE "Executioner"
PERFORMER "Steel Assassin"
INDEX 00 26:53:57
INDEX 01 26:54:22
TRACK 08 AUDIO
TITLE "Breakout At St. Lo"
PERFORMER "Steel Assassin"
INDEX 01 31:58:16

Exactly two years ago I got a highly pleasant surprise with Steel Assassin’s debut album ‘War Of The Eight Saints’. For those who have missed that album; Steel Assassin’s history goes back in the early eighties and in 1984 they contributed to the infamous ‘Metal Massacre’ compilation with the song ‘The Executioner’. Unfortunately they didn’t come further than a few demo tapes and Steel Assassin disbanded in 1985. Twenty years later four of the five original members got back together, found a new singer in John Falzone and 24 years after the official foundation the band released their first official album.

Something that a lot of people, including myself, didn’t know is the fact that they released an album in 1997, entitled ‘From The Vault’. However, that was “just” a compilation of both demos and some loose tracks that the band had recorded in their early days. But now finally (and at many request) the band found the time ripe to re-record some of their own favourites in the current line-up! And I’ll be damned, how happy they have made me with this. Before this I wasn’t familiar with the songs that ‘In Hellfire Forged’ treasures, but after hearing the album I can only say that I wouldn’t want to have missed it for the world! This is pure first class traditional U.S. heavy metal! The choice of songs has fell on ‘Spartacus’, ‘Phaethon’ and ‘Executioner’ from the first demo from 1984 and ‘Attila The Hun’ and ‘Crusader’ from the 1895 demo, filled with yet unreleased ‘Heavy Metal Soldiers From Hell’ and ‘Burn The Witch’ from the same era.

Each and every one of these songs is a heavy metal diamond on its own and contain everything that good heavy metal needs; catchy riffs, beautiful solos, a killer rhythm section, strong vocals and the general power of conviction that makes you throw your fist in the air and put your cervical muscles to work automatically. This is METAL! The striking point about these songs is the timeless character, because although the compositions originate from “long-gone times”, they still sound relevant today. As I’ve mentioned before I’m not familiar with the original recordings, but the new versions reveal musical expertise and show an experienced band that knows its business to details. And then there is vocalist John Falzone! I already found his performance on ‘War Of The Eight Saints’ highly convincing, but what he reveals on ‘In Hellfire Forged’ is truly phenomenal! This man definitely belongs to the top of today’s heavy metal vocalists, and that is not an easy job.

Apart from the already mentioned “oldies” the album contains a new song in ‘Breakout At St. Lo’, which will appear on the next record ‘Metal Of Honor’. This song has a bit of a Motörhead feel to it, but fits perfectly to both ‘War Of The Eight Saints’ as ‘In Hellfire Forged’. The have definitely managed to awaken my hunger for the next album and if the rest of the material is as good as this one, I foresee another blast of an album.

I would very much like to say that ‘In Hellfire Forged’ is a product that should not be missing in any heavy metal collection (and I wouldn’t be lying), but unfortunately I can’t! That’s because this album is only released as a vinyl and is also limited to five hundred copies! So strike hard and strike fast to possess your copy via High Roller Records!

A few days after this review went online, SA’s Phil Grasso got in touch and told us this: “The review states that the recording will only be released as vinyl with 500 limited copies. In fact the band is actually releasing the recording as a CD, and the recording is available via the band." - Horst