DragonForce, Exodus, Iced Earth

While heavy metal has splintered into a thousand shards, there are those who remain loyal to some archaic vision of what it is all about. These are the ones who hold true to the metal lifestyle as portrayed by many eighties metal acts, a self-styled purist metal with all the trimmings, sometimes knowingly ironic and sometimes not. There are a number of labels that cater to this market, amongst them Germany's Noise Records and Nuclear Blast. Between their two rosters are a large number of latter day trad-metal acts, and a few relics from the recent past.

DragonForce (Noise) need to be heard to be believed. Their second album, this year's Sonic Firestorm, sounds like an amalgam of classic Maiden and Priest influences, only played at a million miles an hour - the kind of tempo SoCal acts such as Pennywise trade in. Add to this epic keyboards, screaming yet melodious vocals and an awesome twin guitar assault, and it's like prime eighties European metal on steroids.
Based in England, DragonForce is like a United Nations of power metal, with members hailing from South Africa, Hong Kong, Ukraine, and even these fair shores. Guitarist Sam Totman grew up in New Zealand before returning to his native England. His axe work, along with Herman Li is phenomenal. Combining like Maiden's Dave Murray and Adrian Smith in that they both 'specialise' in lead and rhythm, the interplay is unbelievable, especially at the pace they play - and there's little let up. Not for them long atmospheric passages, it's all balls to the wall.
In the limited world of power metal, DragonForce have set new boundaries, and metal heads in Europe and Japan have lapped it up. If you like classic melodic metal, and are a total speed freak, you'll love Sonic Firestorm. And there’s plenty more signed to Noise, from old schoolers Celtic Frost, Helloween and WASP, to the newer Cans, Persuader and the Phil Anselmo-related Superjoint Ritual.

Like Noise Records, Nuclear Blast have been around for ages and know their market. Their newer acts deal in a more contemporary type of metal though, such as the technical and ferocious Swedish acts Soilwork, Meshuggah and In Flames, all well worth a listen. Also on the roster are Manowar, Anthrax, and Exodus for their new album Tempo of the Damned. One of the great thrash bands, they were kind of overshadowed by the so-called 'Big Four' - Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax. This didn't stop them producing some great albums though, one of which contained a track called 'The Toxic Waltz'. Say no more…
After a lengthy spell away from the studio great things were not expected from Tempo of the Damned. Needless to say, it's a stunner. British metal bible Terrorizer even gave it a nine out of ten review. No question that age and rest have had a positive effect on the San Francisco five piece, because they've lost none of the fire that marked mid-eighties albums such as Bonded By Blood and Pleasures of the Flesh.

Opener 'Scar Spangled Banner' marks the return with a killer riff, and it's like they never went away. All the thrash signifiers are present - fizzy yet chunky guitars, a rhythm section capable of unholy tightness, and aggressive vocals courtesy of Steve Souza.
And it makes you think that while metal moved, maybe thrash wasn't a spent force, and maybe those acts that went soft left many avenues unexplored. After all, it had given metal a much needed kick in the ass, yet what was its greatest spawn?
The Black album? I don't think so. So while Tempo of the Damned on the one hand sounds like a bit of a nostalgia trip (albeit a welcome one), it also sounds remarkably fresh and uncontrived. But then, the best thrash always was, wasn't it?
That was the appeal in the first place.

Exodus’s 'The Toxic Waltz' appears in The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time by rock scribe Martin Popoff - and rightfully so. Also gathering numerous honours in that tome are Iced Earth. This American Act, the brainchild of Jon Schaffer, specialises in epic power metal, with an overriding historical bent. This year's The Glorious Burden (SPV) focuses on various wars across the spectrum of American history - the War of Independence, the Civil War, World War One, Vietnam, as well as touching on 9/11. Schaffer (who started the band as a 16 year old runaway in Indiana) is obviously a war and history nut, and his complex compositions have a storytellers weave about them. The last three tracks here form a triptych entitled 'Gettysburg' - the great battle of the Civil War. The sleeve for the album has extensive notes about the pieces, and what Schaffer was trying to achieve. It's quite a remarkable achievement really. Musically Iced Earth are superb, vocalist Tim Owens of particular note, while Schaffer's guitar work and arrangements are often mind bending. Again there are NWOBHM melodic influences, along with a healthy shot of Bay Area thrash madness.

For those bemoaning the lack of substance amongst today’s chart-orientated hard rock, these three acts and their label mates offer some respite. And while the audience may not be any where near as big as it was in the halcyon mid-eighties period, the fact that they’re still around suggests traditional metal still has some currency.