Ironsword - 'Overlords Of Chaos'

Retro power metal unit from Portugal with affinity for Robert E. Howard fantasy realms has its heart in the right place, however, the horribly undermining vocals make this tributary album sound as if a drunken Crom was bellowing the tunes while smiting infidels for sick pleasure.

Sword and sorcery is a rudimentary element to classic heavy metal, as much as skullduggery and Satanism are to darker forms of the genre. Should there ever be a third Conan the Barbarian film it would be criminal if the score didn’t include some metal.

Portuguese power trio Ironsword are obvious fans of glistening cutlery, bare-chested valkyrie and pulp adventure as they are traditional metal crushers like Manowar, Saxon and Running Wild.

On their third album Overlords of Chaos, there is a dense airiness to the production reminiscent of eighties power metal records, which should have old school ‘bangers drifting back in time to bedroom sprawls with Hallow’s Eve and Armored Saint albums spinning while perusing paperback Conan novels and illustrated fantasy epics out of Heavy Metal magazine.

In this sense, Ironsword’s Cimmerian-bred shtick works like a charm. These guys are astute replicators of hammering power odes with a throwback feel to the up-and-coming Metal Blade years and New Renaissance’s brief control of the underground. “Wrath of Crom,” “Cimmeria” and “Crown of Iron” are all gloriously metallic instrumentally-speakng.

On the downside, however, there’s no pussyfooting around the obvious: guitarist Tann also handles the vocal duties for Ironsword and they are simply dreadful. Alas, his growling would better be relegated to a monotone death nerve instead of trying to fuse melody behind his esophagus-raked flotsam. For every ounce of heroism Ironsword projects from their commendable battle marches, Tann hopelessly ransacks most of momentum this thing generates, despite a noble attempt to croon softly on the closing number “The Pyre of Rings.”

Mitra save us…