Stormzone

Contrite Metal Guy – Mistakes Were Made

By Carcharodon on June 29, 2020 in Blog Posts, 87 comments

“The life of the unpaid, overworked metal reviewer is not an easy one. Cascading promos, unreasonable deadlines, draconian editors and the unwashed metal mobs – it makes for a swirling maelstrom of music and madness. In all that tumult, errors are bound to happen and sometimes our initial impression of an album may not be completely accurate. With time and distance comes wisdom, and so we’ve decided to pull back the confessional curtain and reveal our biggest blunders, missteps, oversights and ratings face-plants. Consider this our sincere AMGea culpa. Redemption is retroactive, forgiveness is mandatory.” Tiny missteps.

Stormzone – Three Kings Review

By Steel Druhm on July 10, 2013 in 2013, 3.0, Heavy Metal, Irish Metal, Metal Nation Records, Reviews, Heavy Metal, 0 comments

“In the wake of the surprising comeback album by Satan and the enjoyable new White Wizzard outing, NWoBHM may be a bit more palatable to metal mavens young and old. Striking while the iron is hot, Ireland’s Stormzone roars back onto the scene with yet another ode to old-timey metal in the same vein as Iron Maiden, Saxon and Grim Reaper.” Steel Druhm has been a staunch Stormzone supporter since joining the AMG staff. Does their new opus continue to satisfy his metal needs or will it be hit by the curse of 2013? Hey, they can’t all be White Wizzard….

Stormzone – Zero to Rage Review

By Steel Druhm on November 16, 2011 in 2011, 4.0, Heavy Metal, Irish Metal, Reviews, SPV, 4 comments

Way back as a newbie first year reviewer for the world-renowned Angry Metal Guy, no release floored me quite like Stormzone’s Death Dealer. Although I’d never heard of these Belfast hooligans, their hardcore NWOBHM worship and excellent song writing really got my blood riled up. Accordingly, Death Dealer got Steel Druhm’s only perfect score for 2010 and ended up my album of the year as well. Fast forward to 2011 and it’s a grizzled, jaded, cynical Steel Druhm that greets their new release, Zero to Rage. So, do things look different now that my doe-eyed youth has been drained away by long hours, crappy releases, zero pay and spiteful hate mail? Not really! They still embody the very essence of the NWOBHM style that I love dearly and still traffic in the ways of Saxon, Grim Reaper, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. When they hit their stride, they’re as metal as metal gets and no school sounds older. They also prove once again they’re capable of writing metal anthems that rock my metalverse. While this is a little less immediate than Death Dealer, it’s yet another mammoth dose of old style metal with enough hooks for a month-long fishing trip and enough muscle for an amateur bodybuilding contest. These guys have an infectious swagger and charm all their own and it’s still coming through loud and proud. So, don your high tops, skin-tight jeans and bullet belts and climb aboard the Way Back Machine as I set the dial to 1983!

Steel Druhm’s Top 10(ish) of 2010

By Steel Druhm on December 10, 2010 in 2010, 2011, Blog Posts, Releases, 11 comments

Well, it’s been a very interesting year for me, Steel Druhm since joining Angry Metal Guy Industries in April. Despite the no pay, brutal hours, an Angry Metal Boss based overseas and enough hate mail to choke a Belgian aardvark, it’s been tons of fun and I wouldn’t trade one minute of it for a million Amorphis CDs. This year, like every other year, saw it’s fair share of shining metal moments and plenty of steaming crap as well. All things considered though, it’s a great time to be a fan of metal and there’s so much out there to choose from, it can get overwhelming trying to stay current and hear all the worthwhile releases. As the year winds down and we get set for the start of 2011, I want to wish all our readers a happy holiday season and give a big metal salute to all of you (and an extra big salute to the Angry Metal Guy himself for giving me a forum for my metal rants). I hope we were able to turn folks on to some quality music and generally entertain with our opinionated and self-righteous musings, ramblings, tirades, manifestos and diatribes.

Enforcer – Diamonds Review

By Steel Druhm on May 28, 2010 in 2010, 3.5, American Metal, Earache Records, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Thrash Metal, Thrash Metal, 12 comments

Another retro 80’s metal album being reviewed on Angry Metal Guy? This place must really be going to hell in a hand basket. Well, at least one angry metal reviewer is enjoying the ride and Enforcer’s new album Diamonds would be the perfect soundtrack for any such hell bound pleasure excursion. Following along with 80’s NWOBHM worshiping peers Steelwing and Stormzone, Sweden’s Enforcer roars back to life with the follow up to 2008’s Into the Night and the results are pretty impressive and more fun than barrel full of monkeys.

Stormzone – Death Dealer Review

By Steel Druhm on May 20, 2010 in Reviews, NWOBHM, 4 comments

Neal Kay, for those who don’t know, is widely credited with discovering and championing Iron Maiden way back in the day. Well, if that wasn’t service enough to the metal world, now he has helped bring us Northern Ireland’s classic metal masters Stormzone and their new album Death Dealer. This is no small accomplishment because, quite simply, this album is an absolute masterpiece of classic metal and full to the brim with top quality metal anthems. Stormzone is a band deeply entrenched in the early NWOBHM style and composed of musicians like vocalist John “Harv” Harbinson, with ties to bands of that era (Sweet Savage, Fastway). All the trappings of the British metal invasion are here and fans of that sound and seminal masters like of Saxon and Grim Reaper will immediately hear it in the sound and attitude exhibited on Death Dealer.