Stephen I still remember how I admire STORMZONE's 'Death Dealer' and I had high hopes for 'Zero To Rage' but sad to say that I was left disappointed after couple of spins. Maybe because it lacks of punchy riffs, half of the album was draggin' too long for over 6 minutes when they can just cut it to 4, the production is quite decent but the drums sound kinda weak. Not to say that most of the songs are bordering average with only couple of stand-outs.

'Where We Belong' is almost the same as IRON MAIDEN's 'The Wicker Man', the solo is nice though. 'Zero To Rage' has great chorus packed with very nice rhythm and riffs. 'This Is Our Victory' is the most brilliant track of all. It started slowly and cracks up high with a blistering tempo and superb solos, definitely my fave right from the beginning.

Now spinning to the second half, I rarely can find something that made me awe like 'Victory', that's just too bad. 'Fear Hotel' and 'Empire of Fear' are good but 'Uprising' and 'Monsters' are fillers I guess. 'Cuchulainn's Story' is nice, the riffs are brutal and the whole song is interesting, but then 'Voice Inside My Head' was thrown away to the back. Melodic heavy metal is the name of the game, quite similar to the earlier album, only this is somewhat weaker. If you want to test the water, try 'Death Dealer', but this one is quite harmless to have for a bargain price.

Time Signature This is our victory...

Genre: heavy metal

If you like solid traditional heavy metal, then Northern Irish metal band Stormzone should be right up your alley. On "Zero to Rage", they deliver impeccable heavy metal, characterized by that metal magic that was the defining features of quality metal back in the 80s.

Lots of strong riffage and lots of melody - this album has it. But we are not dealing with a purely retro heavy metal album. In addition to the obvious traditional metal and hard rock elements that are ubiquituous on the album, there is at times a certain power metal-esque grandeur and epicness to be heard. Some of the choruses have that same big catchiness that you hear in a lot of power metal these days - and it doesn't exactly make things worse that Stormzone's singer John Harbinson has a powerful voice that adds an extra oomph to the vocal melodies.

Fans of hard rock, traditional metal and power metal are likely to adore this release - so if you're looking for a last-minute Christmas present for your metal loving uncle, then look no further.

(review originally posted at seaoftranquility.org)

Stephen If you want to have the same exciting experience when listening to Iron Maiden, then I suggest you try Stormzone's "Death Dealer". The Irish heavy metal act really explicitly told the audience that Maiden is their sole musical guideline, from the close-resemblance of Harv's voice with Bruce Dickinson to the harmonic twin guitar attack of Polin/Harris. Another good comparation of their style is perhaps the American's traditional heavy metal outfit, Fifth Angel, especially on their second album, "Time Will Tell".

Judging from a major reshuffling in the band's camp, leaving Harv and Harris as the only original members, and adding the second rhythm guitarist, Chris Polin, one can say that “Death Dealer" is like a new chapter of the band's career. The band decided to focus on an uptempo arrangement pattern and several outstanding compositions with a perfect Verse/Bridge/Chorus construction are "Secret Gateway", "Immortals", "Stand Up And Fight", and "The Memory Never Dies". The most shining track here is the latter with a climax chorus. Some other notable tracks that you should take a good look are "The Legend Carries On", "The Chosen One", and "The Final Journey".

The sound production is magnificent and I didn't spot any wasteful filler inside although I expect several tracks should be done better. The main problem is probably the originality issue, but it's very hard to deal with this problem if you want to play around the classic genre that was started roughly almost 40 years ago, at least, they did it well and let’s say, even a classic band such as Iron Maiden or Motorhead need a fresh new generation to continue the heavy metal saga. "Death Dealer" is a very good effort by the band and I hope they can preserve the consistency on the next album. For fans of traditional heavy metal as well as 80s glam metal/hard rock, this one is another strong 2010 release you just can’t miss!