These Swedes from Örebro have so far released two full lengths of traditional power-speed metal reminiscent of the Eighties’ classics by Running Wild, Rage, Blind Guardian and Grave Digger. The band was started in 2014 by vocalist and guitarist Mattias “Matte” Lövdal and now it has developed in a full line up with him staying on bass, joined by two guitarists (Juha Niemi and Thomas Eriksson) and Stefan Almqvist on drums. The new album Mutiny has been mixed and mastered by Cederick Forsberg (Blazon Stone, Cloven Altar) who also plays the guitar solos.
The up-tempo starter Dead Man’s Land takes us back to the Under Jolly Roger and Heavy Metal Breakdown era with trademark speed metal riffs and slightly gruff vocals, which also bring to mind the mighty Rock ‘n’ Rolf. Horror Movie Mania is darker and not as fast, reminding me more of Branded And Exiled. It is obvious that Raging Fate are trying very successfully to emulate the glory days of the aforementioned bands but with a particular attention paid to the pirate-era of Running Wild. The title track, for example, could sit comfortably among the tracklist in Pile Of Skulls and I can’t think of a better compliment than that. I can swear I’ve heard the leading riff of Blood Red Sky in a Running Wild song before, but this is a minor flaw, when these guys’ passion is taken into account. It’s a fact (unfortunately) that Running Wild have not released a decent album since 2002 and I don’t have any expectations for something better anymore, so Raging Fate step up to bring a smile to the face of every fan of Port Royal and Death Or Glory. There are several not-so-exciting moments of treating water like Powder And Flame, Skull And Bones and the already-mentioned familiarity of Blood Red Sky, but all of the other 6 tracks are total winners.
Mutiny finishes with the eight-minute epic The Great Heathen Army, having the same storytelling quality and picturesque melodies and choruses I was hoping for. Amazing stuff and I can safely say that Mutiny is not only Raging Fate’s best album so far, but also the best pirate-metal album since Blazon Stone’s No Sign Of Glory. The beautiful cover artwork by Anton Atanasov (Oldschool Crew Graphics) adds the final touch to this love letter to the old school German scene. If you are a fan of any of the albums mentioned so far in this review, don’t make the mistake to miss this one. Get it now.
8/10
Mutiny is out on January 11th and can be ordered from HERE (you can also listen to two of the songs)
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