Time Signature At the gates of hell...

Genre: speed metal

Revenge are an extremely productive band. Formed in 2002, they have around 20 releases under their belt, six of which are full albums. "Harder than Steel" is the most recent of these. Their mission has always been to churn out awesome speed metal.

And speed metal is what you get on this album, as you are treated to one 80s speed metal inspired track after another. You can hear influences from early Helloween, early Blind Guardian, and other European speed metal acts on this album, with the difference that Revenge are less epic and more rough. So, there are plenty of double bassdrum pulses and chugging guitars. That said, there is plenty of melody in the form of a considerable Iron Maiden influence, and there are low more traditional metal-ish parts.

Generally, there is a tendency in retro speed metal to opt for a lo-fi production. However, Revenge have not gone down that road, as this production on this album is actually very crisp and well-defined, which I appreciate. The musicianship and songwriting are pretty solid, and this is something that is foregrounded by the production.

This album should appeal to fans of speed metal and is definitely such an enjoyable listen that fans of related genres such as traditional metal, power metal, and thrash metal might like it too.