Iron Allies – Blood In Blood Out (AFM Records)

In all probability, many of you will already have picked up on the debut release by the essentially German hard rock band Iron Allies which features former Accept members Herman Frank and David Reece. Guitarist Frank was with the band for three spells and appeared on some of their truly exceptional albums Balls To The Wall, Blood Of The Nations, Stalingrad and Blind Rage whilst the American vocalist Reece served the band for a short period at the end of the ’80s and featured on Eat The Heat before moving on to Bangalore Choir and Gypsy Rose with countless other performances and cameos along the way.

Iron Allies has brought in some excellent musicians in Mike Pesin on rhythm guitar, Malte Burkert on bass and Francesco Jovino (Drums) and all have comfortably settled in so that there is a real group feel to the band rather than session musicians taking a back seat and allowing Frank and Reece to take all the glory. Given their names and the Accept legacy between them then then you will not be surprised by the fact that Blood In Blood Out is an exceptional hard rock album heavy on riffs and storming guitar breaks with a classic metal vocal performance from Reece that truly does turn back the years.

The album is chock full of short, sharp songs that pack a real punch and all immediately feel like old friends which means that you simply cannot resist the temptation to keep cranking the volume dial up to maximum. If you are wanting power ballads and rock that is restrained and controlled then best look elsewhere as this is metal to head bang to with no apologies offered up for the old school heavy metal delivery and that is exactly as it should be. Herman Frank is thrilling on guitar with accomplished support from Mike Pesin and David Reece is, well, David Reece doing what he is best at which is being every inch the rock god.

If you have a love of Accept and Judas Priest then you really need this stunning hard rock album in your life. The quality on display here will ensure there is a real clamour for this band and hopefully there will be much more to come from them.