Saint-Hellblade

Retroactive
2010

Saint have gone through some line-up changes since their last release. Now down to a foursome Jerry Johnson on all the guitar duties and Bill Brost replaces Larry London behind the drums. More important than who is involved is the fact that the band gets back to their real metal roots. This is much more like it. "Crime scene Earth 2.0" was a confused effort that tried to use effects and only held back the band's sound. With "Hell Blade" the band stampede through through some bone-snapping metal in the style of Judas Priest, Accept and Metal Church. Vocalist Josh Kramer shines through some Rob Halford like vocals as he never lets up. There is no fooling around or trying to keep up with trends as Saint just pushes forth solid metal tracks like "Hell Train" and "New World Order". No offense to former guitarist Dee Harrington, but Jerry Johnson handles the guitars effortlessly by himself as explodes with with a fury this band hasn't had in far too long. The production also adds to their cause as all sounds involved can be heard to the fullest. I was blown away on the first play of "Hell Blade" and enjoyed it even more on subsequent plays. My only complaint is that it all seemed to go too fast. Good to see this band back to form.