Steve Blower is the frontman for the band Hamerex from Wakefield..

Track 1 Back in Hell.

Back in hell kicks of with a strong powerful intro which brings Iron Maiden or even Judas Priest to mind and shortly joined by vocals which made me instantly think Bruce Dickinson which for me is a huge yes. The song right through makes me think I am listening to an Iron Maiden song which personally I find this fantastic to find a modern artist creating music that is going back to the roots of British heavy metal giving a really powerful eighties vibe something that would appeal to the older generations of rockers.

Track 2 The Whisperer

The Whisperer opens up with powerful guitar riffs soon accompanied by strong vocals keeping up a fast paced beat throughout the entire song from start to finish with both vocals and instrumentals throughout the entire song, even though the song is very constant it could be seen as repetitive for a song that is nearly five minutes long but overall is a good track keeping a constant flow going.

Track 3 What’s Left Of Me

What’s Left of Me opens up strong with a vocal introduction something I could really imagine grabbing the audience’s attention. Again the song keeps going with a constant pace throughout both instrumentals and vocals which again can get a bit repetitive often repeating the same lyrics and instrumental riffs throughout the whole song.

Track 4 The Prophet

Opening very different to the previous songs on the album with much darker and slower instrumentals almost giving a Black Sabbath vibe to the song playing a completely different tone to the rest of the album so far. The song keeps a nice pace throughout not superfast but not to slow at all, The Prophet is a brilliant tune all in all bringing some darkness and a different tone to the album with both the instrumentals and vocals taking a different tone throughout.

Track 5 Arabian Nights

Arabian Nights is an instrumental song with over three minutes of strong fast paced instrumentals almost like the band is building up to something big throughout, the song is mostly guitar focused but with great drum riffs in the background creating a great combination to get the crowd wanting more and more.

Track 6 Out Of This World

Out Of This World is another instrumental song on the album with no vocal back ups but the instrumental alone give the song justice releasing a true Iron Maiden vibe throughout the whole song with different guitar riffs from start to finish keeping a steady flow of the classic rock style from start to finish.

Track 7 The Midas Touch

The Midas Touch is the third instrumental song on the album starting with heavy guitar and drum riffs keeping the pace going throughout the song picking up the guitar pace in certain parts of the song with some great shredding throughout.

Track 8 Twisted Evolution

Opening very gentle with a slow soft pace slowly opening up for some heavier guitar riffs and returning to having vocals in the song which is great to hear as three instrumental songs in a row can get a bit repetitive. Twisted Evolution brings the album back to glory giving the fans a chance to rock out with a frontman again, the song keeps a good rhythm going throughout the song creating a real headbangers vibe with a great build up midway through the song opening the doors for a guitar solo which is always nice to hear in rock music, overall I would rate Twisted Evolution one of the best songs on the album.

Track 9 The Slain/ Ties That Bind Us
A nice gentle intro soon met by some gentle lyrics giving a power ballad vibe to the song with very gentle guitar riffs throughout the intro of the song slowly picking up the pace and being greeted by the rest of the band picking up the pace faster and faster at which point you know the song is going to take a turn and it does moving in to much heavier instrumentals with great deep guitar and drum riffs then being met by the vocals again taking the stage like the earlier songs of the album.

Track 10 Haunting Misery

The intro to Haunting Misery had my head going up and down straight away getting straight to the point with heavy riffs and vocals, being the second to last song on the album is a great way to get the band and the audiences adrenalin going again as we all know how exhausting a gig can be being in the audience or the band. At the halfway point to the song it all changes again going in for some seriously fast instrumental which I can only imagine will open up many circles throughout any audience to this song.

Track 11 The World Is Ablaze

The final track to the album The World is Ablaze with a name like that I am not surprised by the intro which is instantly fast paced insane instrumentals and vocals from the get go giving the crowd one last chance to go insane before the end of the show which I believe would end in a mighty roar.

I am a big fan of death and thrash metal and many modern artists but to hear something like this is great as I am also a huge fan of Iron Maiden Black Sabbath and many classic metal bands and if Steve Blower carries on then he could bring back this wave of rock music inspiring many others to create music in the same style.
Throughout the album many different styles were used almost like mixing up many different bands styles from the 80s I did find some repetitiveness throughout the album and having three instrumental songs back to back can get a little challenging by the third song especially when each song is over five minutes long. Overall this is a great rock album and I highly recommend a listen especially to Iron Maiden Fans.

7/10 – Review by Johnny K

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