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Axehammer - Windrider - 2005 - Sentinel Steel
Bill Ramp - Vocals
Jerry Watt - Guitars
Joe Aghassi - Drums
Colin Sauers - Bass
Axehammer is back! This legendary, red, white, and blue, American made heavy metal
force is indeed "back for vengeance". What a way to kick off 2006, and what a
glorious return to form. Folks, if you want to hear a band that is completely true to
form, a complete bare bones approach at pure metal finesse, then by all means buy
"Windrider" right now. After twenty years this band has not changed any, not one
single ounce of modern tendencies or commercial waves found within their molten metal
sound. Like other fantastic US bands like Attacker, Overlorde, and October 31 (the big 3
in my opinion), Axehammer make a call to past glory, a rally call to arms that brings back
the traditional, classic spark of the 80s, completely captured in it's pure innocence,
without any of today's trends, "collectability", or greed seeping in. This is
absolute magic, and at times just leaves me shaking my head at the amount of talent
bottled up for twenty years.
The Axehammer/Sentinel Steel relationship actually dates back to 1998. At that time the
label collaborated with Axehammer to release their 1987 treasure "Lord Of The
Realm" on disc. Unfortunately this was the only album the group ever released...until
now. With all of the remaining members other than new bassist Horacio Colmenares (New
Eden), the L.A. band joined legendary producer Bill Metoyer to create this power metal
opus, "Windrider". As amazing as it sounds, this record could have easily been
released in 1988 as the follow-up to the band's phenomenal debut. As I said earlier, this
is deeply rooted in the 80s sound. Axehammer are really influenced by the new wave of the
early 80s, and capture some of those European sounds without picking up any of today's
more groove oriented or symphonic sounds.
The real superstar here, in my opinion, is the fantastic vocalist Bill Ramp. His mid-range
delivery is just astounding, really commanding a superior presence behind this album. You
won't find Ramp hitting too many high notes, instead his voice is very authoritive, almost
like Bobby Lucas (Seven Witches, Overlorde) when he uses his lower range. The band just
shine on stirring tracks like "Stand Up And Fight", "Back For
Vengeance", and album highlight "Windrider". The group even harken back to
their early days with a spoken intro on "Rise Up". Sentinel Steel owner Denis
Gulbey oversees this whole project and manages to deliver the goods in grand style.
Bottom Line - One of the best damn metal records ever released! Buy this and support an
honest group of musicians who refuse to relinquish their love for true, blue collar,
traditional metal.
http://www.sentinelsteel.com/Label/Axehammer.html
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