We all have our influences. We all have those bands that made us who we are. Some of us absorb these influences and use them to inspire us throughout our creative endeavours, and some of us flay their influences and wear them like some sort of disturbing skin suit. Unfortunately, Metallic Torments, the debut record from French duo Iron Slaught, lands firmly in the serial killer camp.
From the opening moments it’s impossible to ignore the band’s devotion to the glory days of early ’80s heavy metal. Now, that’s not a crime in itself, plenty of modern bands mine that era with enough personality to justify it. Iron Slaught, however, seem hell-bent (for leather?) on recreating the surface-level aesthetics of the era without ever capturing the spark that made those records exciting in the first place. Every galloping riff, every squealing lead and every gruff vocal line seems a bit too familiar…
It’s abundantly clear that this duo of musicians can clearly play they their instruments well. There are flashes of tight guitar work and the odd solo that briefly raises an eyebrow (before disappearing back into another collection of riffs that sound as though they were discovered on a piece of paper found in the pocket of Steve Harris’s dirty laundry). The songwriting never finds a hook worth remembering, and by the halfway point the tracks blur into one long exercise in déjà vu.
It doesn’t help that the production is so committed to sounding “vintage” that much of the album lacks any real weight. They appear to be aiming for classic authenticity but come off sounding more like a tribute act playing through a rehearsal PA. Combine this with the fact that they can’t quite seem to decide which of the multitude of ‘80s heavy metal bands they want to sound like (and therefore decide on…all of them), and you’re left with a rather confusing dollop of…well…something…
Perhaps the biggest disappointment is that Metallic Torments never takes a single risk. There’s no moment where Iron Slaught stamp their own identity onto proceedings or suggest they have anything to say beyond “remember when Judas Priest, Saxon and Accept were brilliant?” Yes, we do. That’s rather the problem.
Honestly, it’s not all bad. Ghastly Obsession and Fatal Retaliations are thrashier numbers, and they do actually stand up quite well. The gruff, barking vocals certainly appeal considerably more than the falsetto wailing found elsewhere on the record. There is clearly opportunity to revel in familiarity here, and if your idea of a perfect evening is pretending it’s 1983 whilst wearing a denim vest covered in patches, this may well scratch that (very specific) itch. For everyone else, Metallic Torments isn’t quite a celebration of classic heavy metal…more like a low-quality photocopy of your favourite book…faded, uninspired and really making you wonder why you aren’t just reading the original…
Best Paired with – An old battle jacket, a camping chair and a touch of dementia.
Reviewed by Bryn.
Iron Slaught – Metallic Torments is out now on Gates of hell records.
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