VELVET THUNDER

March In Arms is an American hard rock band from Sioux Falls, South Dakota that formed in 2012 with Pulse Of The Daring being the second album and was actually recorded in 2018 but is only now available for release. It appears that the band is a self-styled ‘military power metal’ band which is a new one for me but it does seem that all of the subject matter is war and battle related and here I quote from the band’s publicity, “the title track tells the harrowing tale of the first day of the Battle Of The Somme.”

An Act Of Valor takes us to the chaotic streets of Mogadishu during the Blackhawk Down episode. Thunderbolt is a thrashy power metal tribute to the A-10 warplane and its devastating Gatling gun. The Blitz highlights the defiant nature of Londoners during the blitzkrieg so I think that gives you a flavour of where this band is at. The lyrics and subject matter are very weighty indeed and you can see from the track list below that the theme continues with other subjects being covered including The D-day Landings so this is a serious band that rocks and rocks hard. I would probably say they were more classic heavy metal rather than power metal and have something of Manowar about them and are a very powerful and guitar heavy band. You could also compare them to Sabaton and they also contain an element of Metallica which is probably a leftover of the band’s earlier thrash days and there is a touch of English metal in there too. 

Ryan Knutson on guitar/vocals is a revelation as a frontman and he has superb charisma and a voice that simply thrills and is a true rock god in the making. The huge swathes of guitar that make up the bulk of this album are courtesy of Knutson and a further two guitarists in Jon Parker and Sheldon Swan with Collin Citrowski on bass and Bobby Cook on drums with additional performances from Emily Swan on backing vocals, Esther Nissen on violin and Audrey Graber on cello.

The album is full of killer Black Sabbath type riffs with huge and searing guitar solos that will have you playing air guitar along with them whilst the neighbours hammer on the wall demanding that you turn the volume down but you won’t because you’ll be far too engrossed in the heavy metal frenzy that the band induces. Yes, they are heavy but they are still a very melodic band and the songs are well written with plenty of hooks to keep you enthralled and totally wrapped up in what is becoming a rather special band indeed. They released a self-titled debut around 2014 and this is now an album that I need to check up on also because if it is as good as Pulse Of The Daring then it needs to be heard and by a much wider audience.

March In Arms is a classic metal band that thoroughly deserves your investigation as they have produced a stunning and very guitar heavy album that will quite literally blow you away. What amazes me is that they are an unsigned band, somebody get the cheque book out and quickly!