Nightsteel – ‘Nightsteel’

(Cosmic Fire)

Bill Sam is the principal creative force behind Nightsteel who has brought together a team of primarily guest musicians to bring his songs to life. I would categorise the band as Power Metal, but sonically this is obviously inspired dramatically but old school Eighties Heavy Metal. Sam’s song writing sees him mashing up elements of Iron Maiden, Dio and probably most noticeably Judas Priest. Fans of that era of metal will also detect influences of other similar acts from that time.

You’ve got fast guitar riffs, rapid drums and galloping bass lines and of course soaring vocals. There are multiple vocalists on board all with their own touches, Travis Wills makes me think of Rob Halford with a slight edge of Bruce Dickinson in his delivery. Mauro Elias on the other hand has a Dio Quality about his performance. It’s apparent the album utilises multiple vocalist’s but this isn’t detrimental to the album which is cohesive, the vocal mix just adds some different shades and atmospherics to certain tracks. Given the fast paced style of Travis Will’s songs it’s clear why they are clumped together as the second half of the album becomes less sonically rapid.

Metal like this isn’t commercial but my own personal tastes crave those easy choruses and big hooks. I know Nightsteel will have a deeper impact on true genre fans than they do me. There is some fantastic musicianship on display which I’m confident will provide an enjoyable ride for old school metalheads.

My favourite song on the album is ‘Whisper’s Of The Heart’ which is a potent power ballad straight out of the Eighties and features a strong vocal performance from Rob Lundgren. My favourite singer on the album is probably Tailgunner’s Craig Cairns who sings on the albums most commercial track ‘Win Or Lose’ which while not indictive of the album as a whole, it is the song I would guide people to first when recommending this album.

Nightsteel is very old school heavy metal and I can see it ticking all the right boxes with Metal fans. There are just not enough hooks and memorable choruses to suck me in personally leaving me with the opinion that it is just a good album not great one. I can recognise that Metal fans will 100% love throwing the horns up whilst head banging to this even if it does not quite hit the spot with me.

6/10

Essential Track - 'Whispers Of The Heart'

Review by Woody