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Iron Kingdom: On The Hunt
Iron Kingdom: On The Hunt
Traditional Heavy/Power Metal
4.0/5.0
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Unsigned/Self-released
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 02.10.2019 | Released: 04.10.2019
My last turn with Canada's Iron Kingdom came with 2013's Gates Of Eternity, an album born out of tragedy. Founding members, brother and sister, Chris and Amanda Osterman lost their grandmother in a brutal murder. Many songs within the album were written as a catharsis for their pain. 2015 brought us Ride For Glory, a recording that never crossed my desk. But in that same year, while on tour, Iron Kingdom had a vehicular accident, totalling their van and trailer. No one was seriously injured, and the band missed only one show. Now Iron Kingdom returns with their fourth long player, On The Hunt, featuring two new players: drummer Joey Paul and second guitarist Megan Merrick, who is Chris' girlfriend. (We'll see how that works out.)
Iron Kingdom
With On The Hunt, you can expect Iron Kingdom's traditional heavy metal. They make know apologies for invoking legends like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, et al, for metal inspiration. Not dismissing the excellent rhythm section, but with the twin guitar attack of Osterman and Merrick, you'll find all the songs within On The Hunt quite guitar-forward. Twin guitar harmony abounds and guitar solos fly like so many bottle rockets in each song. Doubling as the vocalist, Osterman delivers his sharp, sometimes screamo, metal style. Additionally, you'll find the tempo of most songs borrows from the quickness of speed metal, ergo the twist between heavy and power metal. Essentially, with this album, Iron Kingdom remains true to their metal style. And there's much to be said for practical consistency.
As for the songs, I was partial to White Wolf, Road Warriors, and Sign Of The Gods with its strong bass line. Driftin' Through Time kind of reminded me of twist between space metal and Seventies proto-metal. An exception to the speed and power of their heavy metal comes with dialed back metal ballad, The Dream. If all these things sound good to you, or you're simply a fan of the band, you will enjoy Iron Kingdom's On The Hunt. Recommended.
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The Bottom Line
Essentially, with On The Hunt, Iron Kingdom remains true to their tradition heavy power metal style. There's much to be said for practical consistency. If your a fan of the genre or the band, you will enjoy this album. Recommended.
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