Dangerdog Music Reviews :: © 1999 - 2023 Craig S Hartranft :: All Rights Reserved
No part of this this website, including design and music reviews,
may be reproduced in any form or by any means without
the prior written permission of the publisher.
- New Music Reviews
- |
- Archives
- |
- News
- |
- Submissions
- |
- About
- |
- |
New Music Reviews, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal, AOR, Alternative Rock, Alternative Metal
Recent Reviews
March 2023
- RPWL: Crime Scene
- Transworld Identity: Seven Worlds
- Stormwarning: Stormwarning
- Phantom Elite: Blue Blood
- Narnia: Ghost Town
- Redemption: I Am The Storm
- Cross Country Driver: The New Truth
- The Banishment: Machine And Bone
- Seventh Crystal: Wonderland
- Demons Down: I Stand
February 2023
- Air Raid: Fatal Encounter
- Robin McAuley: Alive
- Creye: III - Weightless
- All My Shadows: Eerie Monsters
- First Signal: Face Your Fears
- Gabrielle de Val: Kiss In A Dragon Night
- We Came From Space: Overlords
- T3nors: Naked Soul
- Wig Wam: Out Of The Dark
- Khymera: Hold Your Ground
- Infinite & Divine: Ascendancy
- eMolecule: The Architect
January 2023
- Girish & The Chronicles: Back On Earth (Reissue)
- Arctic Rain: Unity
- Electric Mob: 2 Make U Cry & Dance
- Crowne: Operation Phoenix
- Ronnie Romero: Raised On Heavy Radio
- Ten: Something Wicked This Way Comes
- Riverside: ID.Entity
- Issa: Lights Of Japan
- Heroes And Monsters: Heroes And Monsters
- Big City: Sunwind Sails
December 2022
- NY Fury: I Want It All
- Tommy DeCarlo: Dancing In The Moonlight
- Tarmat: Out Of The Blue
- Scream Maker: Bloodking
- Sabu: Banshee
- Rob Moratti: Epical
- Nevena: Nevena
- Landfall: Elevate
- After Lapse: Face The Storm
Alloy Czar: Awaken the Metal King
Alloy Czar: Awaken the Metal King
Melodic/Heavy Metal
4.0/5.0
Website (Label)
Arkeyn Steel Records
by Craig Hartranft, 04.12.2013
Arkeyn Steel Records once more revisits American heavy metal's past, resurrecting another obscure regional phenomena. This time it's Denver's Alloy Czar with a compilation of their extant demos packaged as Awaken the Metal King.
Alloy Czar:: making hair stylists rich.
Frankly, these demos are surprisingly good. They're fine examples of (very) early Eighties metal, much like an American version of the NWOBHM sound. The songs are marked by strong guitar work, a beefy rhythm section, and clean melodic, sometimes soaring (when trying to do his best Halford), vocals from Bob Parduba. All the songs feature a keyboard layer that ranges from subtle to prominent.
Perhaps the reason that the songs sound so good is that the were recorded one or two at a time over a longer period of time. The band had more time and thought to put into each composition. Regardless, the result is simply eight for good classic melodic heavy metal songs. Sometimes, like with Taking the Lead and Stalker, the pace is faster, but not quite up to the pace of speed metal. Reflecting on that observation of British Metal of the day, you can hear more than a little Judas Priest in the song Slayer. As history would have it, for many bands, Alloy Czar never caught on beyond their regional sphere of influence and band dissolved. But we still have this fine collection of demos in Awaken the Metal King. Get yours today as their only pressing 1000 hand-numbered CDs. Recommended.
In Short
Alloy Steel's Awaken the Metal King offers another glimpse into early Eighties American heavy metal history with this fine collection well crafted, played and produced demos.
Find A Review
Alphabetical Index
Album of the Week
Arriving from Finland, the origins of Transworld Identity come from Mila Bosa, a singer in a cover band. But it wasn't enough. She aspired to write and perform original songs, forming Transworld Identity ... [ Read More ]