Here we have some power metal from Northern Ireland’s Stormzone. It doesn’t quite roll off the tongue like malt whiskey, but power metal it is, and pretty good too.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Stormzone
ALBUM: Ignite The Machine
LABEL: Metalapolis Records
SERIAL: MPR0088
YEAR: 2020
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Northern Ireland
LINEUP: John ‘Harv’ Harbison – vocals * Steve Moore, Junior (Jr) Afrifa – guitars * Graham McNulty – bass, backing vocals * David Bates – drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 Tolling The Bell * 02 Ignite The Machine * 03 My Disease * 04 Each Setting Sun * 05 Dragon Cartel * 06 Nothing To Fear * 07 Revolution * 08 New Age Necromancer * 09 Dealer’s Reign * 10 Flame That Never Dies * 11 Under The Spell * 12 This Is Heavy Metal
RATING: 85/100
WEBLINKS: FB Page
Background
Here we have some power metal from Northern Ireland’s Stormzone. It doesn’t quite roll off the tongue like malt whiskey, but power metal it is, with a heightened tinge of melody to boot. We have written about these blokes previously, but that was way back at the start of their tenure around 2006 and 2007.
Things have changed a lot since then. No two ways about it, this is decent melodic power metal which also touches on traditional (old school) traits, with the sound and imagery to match. The songs on ‘Ignite The Machine’ sound very professional, and with two guitarists laying down the law, it makes things easy for singer John ‘Harv’ Harbinson to deliver the goods upfront.
The Songs
Comparisons have loosely been made to
Iron Maiden but mostly Stormzone have their own identity. Standouts include the opening metallic bluster ‘Tolling Of The Bell’ and the full frontal attack of the title track ‘Ignite The Machine’.
Across the twelve tracks you’ll find that all of them have a commanding presence. I also enjoyed the racy ‘Revolution’, the stomping ‘Dragon Cartel’, while ‘Flame Never Dies’ has a nice acoustic respite/entrance which showcases Harv’s superior vocal. This one is like Iron Maiden, with its gentle intro making way for some galloping but heartily approved metal.
In Summary
For those of you looking for a bit of tough action, look no further than Stormzone, and while you’re at it, check out their back catalogue too!
Video
Tolling Of The Bell
Ignite The Machine
