Arctic Flame-Declaration

Pure Steel
2008

After a few false starts New Jersey's Arctic Flame started up in early 2003. They released their debut "Primal Aggressor" in 2006. They have opened for Thin Lizzy, Michael Schenker, Yngwie Malmsteen/George Lynch, Helloween, W.A.S.P., Overkill, Motorhead and others. Being on PureSteel records gave me an immediate indication that this was going to be 80's style metal. Indeed these guys are very much in that camp. This is a blend of hard hitting classic influences like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Omen plus early progressive metal like Crimson Glory and 80's Fates Warning. The first two tracks "The Unknown God" and "Blind leads the blind" are both adequate, but not exactly complete. Both sounded like they need some more tweaking to make them complete. I am not sure what got into the band after that, but they turn the tide on on track three "Lords of the wasteland". It emerges with a massive riff and some inspired drumming. From this point on Arctic Flame seem more settled and they take control of the rest of the album. The last six songs are very fine examples of pure metal the way it was meant to be constructed. One of my first thoughts about this album is that it is refreshing to hear a vocalist who really sings and knows how to use their voice to really build their songs. The music is filled with think layers and some sharp turns and twists. There were a few songs where it sounds like guitars are a notch below the vocals and the drums. A minor production problem, but hopefully something they will look at before the next album. This style is very much up my alley so it only took me a couple of plays to really warm up to it.

www.myspace.com/arcticfire