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After metalcore, deathcore, and retro thrash, metal’s next trend looks to be retro true metal. At least that’s what Earache would have one believe. In recent years, the label has been decidedly retro, reissuing whatever it can from its (admittedly deep) catalogue and releasing a slew of retro thrash. Earache’s Thrashing Like a Maniac compilation tried to encapsulate retro thrash. Trouble was, summing zeros still yielded zero.
Crowning Glory – Sea of Dead DreamsRam – Sudden Impact
Heavy Metal Killers is more successful in defining an aesthetic. True metal has always been and will always be around. This compilation’s premise is that not just elders fly that flag. That’s probably true. Kids with Internet can access recordings from before their time. Ergo, this collection of youngsters worldwide seemingly cryogenically preserved from the ’80s. Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Queensrÿche are all reincarnated here. Some singers even replicate King Diamond in hitting unexpected octaves.
If one wants to hear Maiden, one should put on Maiden. But there’s something charming about kids trying to be Maiden, with superior chops but production values as bad as before. The results are surprisingly memorable. Hooks stick, choruses soar, and strong singing abounds. After two decades of growls and shrieks, it’s refreshing to hear kids sing. They lack gravitas; none will write a second record like Sad Wings of Destiny. But they’re having fun, and it shows. Heavy Metal Killers is a brilliant collection of singles. Whether it spawns substantive full-lengths remains to be seen.
Buy:
Amazon (MP3)
The End (CD)
Earache US (CD, LP)
Earache EU (CD, LP)
Standouts for me on this comp are Toronto’s Cauldron, and especially Portrait from Sweden, whose recent album is flat-out incredible old-school HM, soounding like “Nuns Have No Fun” meets “Dissident Aggressor”.
Shit…it’s only a year or two until retro glam, isn’t it?
Check out Hellhound. The Japanese are bringing it back too.
Wow, Hellhound could easily have fit on this compilation. Nice tip!
I am so not hoping for retro glam metal.
“After metalcore, deathcore, and retro thrash, metal’s next trend looks to be retro true metal. ”
Yes you called it, sadly. The more I think about this development the more I hope the zeitgeist shifts and HM dies commercially altogether again. Like 1995, only worse, please!
I like this comp – the Cauldron track is decent, but my favorites are Powervice’s “Behold The Hand Of Glory” and Enforcer’s “Mistress Of Hell.” I have the Enforcer full-length, and it’s good stuff all the way through.