The small German label Remedy Records is slowly gathering the forces of heavy metal, offering a mixture of veteran bands like Paragon and Torment and a new wave of German heavy metal bands like Solemnity and Stormwarrior. This promotional album offers a small glimpse of what Remedy Records stands for and what one can expect to hear from them in the near future.

The first band on this sampler is the German Stormwarrior, who recently released their self-titled debut album. An ominous thundering, the screams of battle and the whinnying of horses create the perfect setting for what is to come; fast and furious heavy metal in the vein of Helloween’s debut album Walls Of Jericho. Stormwarrior delivers what the Helloween fans of old have been craving for, twin guitar solos and playful yet fast heavy metal. The intro “The Hammer Returneth” and the two songs “Signe Of The Warlorde” and “Iron Prayers” show that this band is talented and plays heavy metal without compromises.

Next up are the veterans of Paragon with two songs from their new album Law Of The Blade. Paragon plays traditional heavy metal in the vein of Saxon and Judas Priest and the two songs on this sampler are very impressive indeed. “Abducted” and “Palace Of Sin” are two excellent pieces of heavy metal that just make your head want to move. There’s no resisting as Paragon whips out driving riff after driving riff. Although Paragon has been around for a long time already, it seems that they have finally hit the jackpot with Law Of The Blade. Definitely one of the best German heavy metal releases this year and certainly worth checking out!

After the heavy metal start made by Stormwarrior and Paragon, the straight in your face metal of Dark Age sounds slightly misplaced. The band, hailing from Germany, were founded in 1995 and have previously released two albums (The Fall and Insurrection). The two songs on this sampler have been taken from their newest effort entitled The Silent Republic. The music is a mixture of Gothenburg death thrash and black metal with very rough vocals and reminds strongly of a band like Gardenian. Dark Age is very powerful and energetic and relies on driving riffs and speed changes. The two songs on this sampler leave a good impression, especially the first song “Daily Combat”.

The next band, the German Solemnity, play again in that familiar style that is so popular in Germany; classic heavy metal. At the time of the completion of Solemnity’s debut album, Reign In Hell, the band was without a record deal but after the raving reviews this band received in the German media, Remedy Records apparently quickly signed them on.

Solemnity play music that is strongly influenced by bands from the eighties. The album cover gives the impression that they might be a Manowar clone, but that is certainly not the case. The band combines classic heavy metal with thrash influences and overall sound lots heavier and more diverse than Manowar. Solemnity’s influences range from Helloween to Metal Church and the band show that German heavy metal can still be surprising.

The Italian Airborn plays metal in the style of old Helloween. It is however the first band on this sampler that is slightly disappointing. Although the two songs, “The Hero” and “Wings” are well-played pieces of heavy metal, the music is slightly too straightforward with very standard choruses. Especially “The Hero” is a little bit too single-minded and is basically an endless repetition of the chorus with several solos. The second song is fortunately slightly better; it is faster and features better dynamics and a good use of background keyboards.

Why Remedy Records signed Mephistopheles is a bit of a mystery to me. The symphonic black metal of this band certainly doesn’t fit in with the other bands. Both songs on this sampler are taken from Death Unveiled, which will be released in 2003. The songs are roughly mixed, but the sound is nevertheless quite reasonable. The music is very atmospheric, diverse and symphonic and strongly reminds of a band like Sirius. It is nothing new; but worth checking out if you dig symphonic black metal bands like Sirius.

Predator is yet another new signing of Remedy Records. The band is currently working on their debut album and the sampler features two roughly mixed demo songs. Predator plays a mixture of power metal and heavy metal. The first song “Outlaw” is fast and quite straightforward, while the second song “Dream’s Assassin” is a typical heavy metal ballad. In a scene which is totally saturated I wonder whether there is room for Predator. These two songs at least didn’t manage to convince me.

Finally, the German thrash veterans of Torment end this sampler with a well-played Motörhead cover “No Voices In The Sky”. It is a roughly mixed demo and will be featured on the Motörhead tribute that Remedy Records will release in 2003.