Finally, a new album from the winged horse of Australia! Those of you who are already familiar with the band: this album is heavier (so, for me, better) than the previous ones, though it is still melodic, not for the least part due to the new vocals by Rob Thompson, which are smoother than those of former singer Danny Cecati. Those who don’t know them: if you, like me, think heavy metal is the only true metal; if you value the early albums of Maiden, Priest, Manowar and WASP above all else, you will love this. All band members mention Iron Maiden and Judas Priest among their favourite bands and you definitely hear that in their music. So it’s not all new and original? So what? It rocks like few else these days and shows what heavy metal (or, if you wish, true metal) is all about! The Headless Horseman is, as the band themselves put it, their killer album. And it is. With all songs being of serious quality, with riffs as tight as the drummer’s pants, reminding of the Metal Gods themselves (check out tracks 2 and 3), and with strong pounding drumming, it is their heaviest, fastest, tightest album up to date. In the intro a galloping horse lets you know what to expect. The fast pace is only broken sometimes for a sing-along chorus line or a Viking anthem (the introduction to The Patriot).

The only flaw of the album is, I think, the two songs (Look To The Stars and Dragon Slayer) in which the vocals play the most prominent part. It’s not that Thompson has a bad voice (though I preferred Cecati for his rawer voice, but that’s a personal preference), but this kind of music just sounds better with the guitars playing the main part. And even though I usually hate the obligatory ballad that seems to have to be on every true-metal album, those guys manage to make their Spread Your Wings heavy and portentous enough to be an interesting and ominous introduction to the killer-track Forever Chasing Rainbow immediately following it, with guitar themes reminding of Iron Maiden in their best days. The last track, Ballad Of A Thin Man, was intended to be on a Thin Lizzy-tribute EP, but everyone liked it so well they decided to put it on this cd. It is a direct homage to Phil Lynott, with vocals by guitarist Johnny Stoj and bassplay worthy of the master himself; of which Lynott’s mother appears to have said: “Fantastic! Philip would have loved it.” So all I can do is recommend this album to every heavy-metalhead, to, as the band puts it in the title track, “hear the thunder raging from Down Under”.