Black Viper: Hellions of Fire (2018)

How could you not get sucked in by that album cover?  That thing is ridiculous, insane and awesome all at once.  It helps to justify picking up the album that the drummer was in Deathhammer at one point, so I am fully on board now.

From the opening strains leading into the siren howl of vocalist Salvador Armijo, it is very clear that this is a direct call back to speed/heavy metal classics of the 1980's.  It is a breathtaking cavalcade of riffs and melodies that flies by at blinding speeds.  In fact, the speed is so intense and breakneck, it is a wonder that the individual musicians are able to keep up.  At the backbone of all of this is the aforementioned Deathhammer drummer, one Cato Stormoen.  His ability to keep time while propelling the band forward is amazing and is the biggest highlight of the album.

On first listen, it seems like a lot of the songs are more of a collection of ideas than cohesive songs, but subsequent listens tend to reveal more of a common thread.  There are multiple different sections and speed changes during most of the songs.  But they manage to hold things together and the songs always come full circle. 

This album definitely captures the sound and the fury of 1980's speed metal, without sounding out-dated.  I love it.  It's a ton of fun.