REVIEW: ANGEL SWORD “WORLD FIGHTER”

A Exemplary Return…

DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present ANGEL SWORD’s highly anticipated third album, World Fighter, on CD and vinyl LP formats.

Hailing from Helsinki, Finland’s ANGEL SWORD formed in 2010 with the intent to play old-school heavy metal. And they get right to it with the too-perfectly titled demo Where We Are Going You Cannot Come demo later that year. Two EPs followed – 2013’s Ripping the Heavens and 2015’s The Midwinter Tapes – before their decisive debut album, Rebels Beyond the Pale, in 2016. Another perfectly titled recording, ANGEL SWORD’s first full-length was a fresh breath of old air, finding some elusive (and deceptively laidback yet rough) landscape of late ‘70s heavy metal, subsequent NWOBHM, and adjacent early US power metal. Three years later followed the tighter and slightly more aggressive Neon City, expanding the band’s still-‘80s-bound gaze through a charmingly rustic retro-futurist lens. During all these years, ANGEL SWORD have opened for Manilla Road, Blitzkrieg, and Satan as well as playing such festivals as Metal Assault, Metalheadz Open Air, Storm Crusher warmup, and Up the Hammers warm-up. Oh, and along the way, Darkthrone’s Fenriz thoroughly championed the band!

“Our goal in this age of soulless, overproduced modern metal is to re-summon the metal gods of old with a skull-crushing, vomit-inducing dose of rough-edged heavy metal,” state ANGEL SWORD, and that’s exactly what they do with World Fighter! It’d be easy to simply say that their third album is a fairly even balance between the first two albums and…well, it’s kinda the truth! Sporting yet another amazing cover artwork, World Fighter brings the bathos and bravado right from its opening seconds, ANGEL SWORD sounding like true world fighters as they chug forward to their battle hymns. From there, nuance and shade – or, rather, just MOOD – become the watchwords as the quartet keep the thrust mostly mid-tempo, allowing their dark melodicism to fully take flight. And, while ANGEL SWORD never seem like they’re in any hurry, the eight tracks of World Fighter are actually the band’s most uptempo work yet; it’s just that they’re exuding such poise now that that pace feels deceptively relaxed, that big & brassy pulse coasting with coolness and heaviness. Put another way, the album’s almost-uniformly balls-to-the-wall gait summons an effervescent energy – and maximum attitude. Truly, ANGEL SWORD are nothing if not engaging in their rough ‘n’ tumble, raise-the-swords charisma, becoming those very blue-collar ruffians you can really believe in. Coupled with a smoother, somewhat-shimmering style of production that still allows their intrinsic grit to “shine” through, World Fighter goes against all odds to become ANGEL SWORD’s crowning achievement to date. All weekend warriors, enter their Church of Rock post-haste!

LINE-UP
Jerry Razors – vocals, guitar
Lightning Mike – lead guitar
Eviltaker – bass
Alexander Depraved – drums

ARTWORK
Subhuman_Being_

REVIEW

Oh ANGEL SWORD, how I’ve missed thee. My first introduction to these mates from Finland was their 2019 ripper Neon City, which was one of my favorite trad releases of that year. Since then, my anticipation for the band’s follow-up has only grown.

ANGEL SWORD has a bit of a trend of having awesome album art, and World Fighter certainly doesn’t disappoint. It joins the esteemed class of “Temple or castle in the background” album art, much like the bestial Crystal Logic from one of ANGEL SWORD’s influences, MANILLA ROAD. The colors are fantastic, that sun is such an eye catcher, and the two cyborg figures in the front only add to the intrigue. No AI as well, which is an automatic passing grade. ANGEL SWORD also has one of my favorite logos in all of NWOTHM, simple but sharp, as any good logo should be.

“Vigilantes” bursts open the album with an unstoppable energy. As I began this review, I found myself revisiting ANGEL SWORD’s Neon City album and rediscovering my adoration for Jerry Razors’ gritty vocal approach. These vocals give ANGEL SWORD a distinctiveness that sets them apart from other bands in the NWOTHM field. It was a brief and energetic track that never lingered for too long.

“Weekend Warrior” (not to be confused with the IRON MAIDEN song of the same name) is a more melodic affair that plays effectively with ANGEL SWORD’s strengths. The intro guitarwork is gorgeous to listen to, a sort of calm before the storm sort of feeling. Throw in an absolutely infectious chorus and a consistently thunderous drumline, and you’ve got a banger on your hands.

“Dangerous Games” was a song that I felt had a fair amount of glam influence sprinkled throughout its runtime. Alexander Depraved’s drumming was a real highlight here, and again the chorus was infectious. Despite that, I have to say that it might be the weakest track thus far, which by no means is a negative.

“Church of Rock” is a nice proper power ballad, beginning with some epic hymnal chanting that quietly reprises throughout the track. Barn burner of a guitar solo in the middle. Once again, ANGEL SWORD proves themselves as great songwriters and exemplary lyricists, with a clear penchant for catchy choruses.

“Powerglove” is a quick little puncher of a track, running just shy of 3 minutes, but it wastes none of its time. With a hooky main riff and some “to the point” storytelling with the lyrics, this is another great track on an already fantastic album. I would’ve liked it to have ran a bit longer, and that’s always a compliment. (NOTE: I am considering this an ode to Nintendo’s ill-fated 90s contraption of the same name).

“Against All Odds” brings us back around to standard length songs, and Depraved’s drumming is quite the opposite of his namesake in this one (that means it’s good). This seems like a good time to shoutout the mixing and production for the album; it’s sharp, but still got that grittiness attached to it that a lot of modern music, not just metal, seems to lack. I really appreciate how every piece of ANGEL SWORD is easy to pick out and hear, and everyone gets their time to shine in this one. Two guitar solos, and even a little bass solo, it’s a hell of a wild ride, and thus far my favorite of the album. Yet another addicting chorus.

“Afterburn” is an absolute masterpiece, no other way to put it. Even on an album chock full of great choruses, it stands head and shoulders above the rest. Like a Thunderbird! The shredding takes another step forward after the last track, and once more does not disappoint. I have bestowed this as the album’s MOAB (Mother of All Bangers).

“World Fighter”, our closer and title track, is also the longest track on the album at nearly 6 minutes. Like “Church of Rock” this one verges on power ballad territory, and represents a wonderful versatility for ANGEL SWORD. I have to shoutout the great little harmony the guitar work has at around the 4:20 mark, just great stuff. The album concludes with an appropriate Big Rock Ending (BRE).

CONCLUSION

4.5 years between Neon City and World Fighter is a long time, and sometimes long breaks can yield diminishing results, but not here. ANGEL SWORD have returned with a tour de force of an album that firmly places them at the top of the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal pyramid. This record was all killer no filler to a T, and it’s definitely an album that I can’t wait to add to my collection.

TheNWOTHM Score: 9.5/10

ANGEL SWORD’s “World Fighter” releases on 14th June, 2024
>>>Pre-Order/Order Here<<<

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