Battle Beast- Steel ALBUM REVIEW

Release date: April 13th, 2011
Type: Full-length
Label: Hype Productions
Country: Finland
Genre: Heavy metal

-written by hells_unicorn of metal-archives.com


STEALING THE STEEL AND MAKING IT SHINE AGAIN

Back in my days as a young, impressionable high school reject, I happened upon a particular poet in class by the name of Edwin Arlington Robinson. Particularly captivating was the cynical realism with a dab of classicism that was portrayed in his work Miniver Cheevy, depicting a homeless drunk who wished for a different world. I was particularly taken by the character's insistence on trying to relive the past, as it sort of played into a recent interest I'd developed in 80s metal after a brief stint as a grunge enthusiast. But alas, in those depressing days that were the mid 1990s there was a little metallic glory to reflect the old school, but present times seem to tell an altogether different tale.

While 80s oriented heavy metal revivalism has been something of a hot topic the past few years, there's only been a few bands that have gone for an outright retro feel to the point of sounding like a really campy cross between "Metal Heart" era Accept and the closing days of Warlock, of which Battle Beast can happily claim a rather auspicious niche. There's been many a naysayer who simply dismiss this recent Finnish phenomenon with a sarcastic tone directed at the low-fi album art, but this outfit does not play music with their album art anymore than Manowar did. This is a band that knows the value of keeping the formula simple while still occasionally giving the guitars and vocals some time to mix things up. Sure, the lyrics might lack in socio-political or philosophical depth, but a world ruled only by uppity Dream Theater clones is a world not worth living in.

The general breakdown of things is fairly streamlined and straightforward, settling for a mid tempo groove and a tried and true riffing approach. The up-tempo gallop of “Die-Hard Warrior”, the mellow bluesy shuffle with a brilliant air in “The Band Of The Hawk” and the crooning familiarity of the token ballad “Savage And Saint” would all be clear nods to Hammerfall in and of themselves, but this album is generally dominated by the first two approaches listed and presented in a much less modern fashion. The production leans heavily towards a larger than life 1985 flavor, vocalist Nitte Valo literally sounds like a perfect hybrid of Udo and Doro, and the songs are so formulaic it hurts. The only thing really non-retro about this is the keyboard parts, which are a bit more in line with recent Finnish power metal trends among the likes of Dreamtale and Celesty, but it works quite well and ads a needed bit of originality to a very good yet highly derivative approach.

All of the serious folk might consider me too easy to please, but I ask only that my metal kick ass rather than defy existing paradigms, and “Steel” is a rock solid boot in the keester. It’s an album that might wear itself out over time due to a very simplistic format and an almost one-dimensional appeal to celebratory fanfare, so watch out for accidental lighter burns on your thumb and maybe switch this album up with some revivalist thrash metal in order to fully relive the 80s experience without resorting to the originals. But it would also be a good idea for fans of the old guard to take a look at this, if for no other reason than to be proud that the next generation is staying faithful to the forefathers.


87/100