Release date: Out now!
Label: Independent!
Iron Bitch, no relation to Demon Bitch, hail from Cleveland, Ohio and describe their music as being in the vein of Dio, Judas Priest, Testament, and Satan. The band features members from Ringworm, Vanik, Vindicator, among many others.
While largely a band of younger folks on the scene, age-wise, bassist Ed Stephens has been involved in the scene in some form or fashion since the late 80s. As an Ohioan, I didn’t realize that I was familiar with his work, but names of some of his late 80s work in Civil Disobedience and Sinister have occasionally circulated amongst my friend group. Cleveland in particular has a rather persistent hardcore/crossover/speed metal scene that only continues to grow. Recently, he’s also enjoyed stints with Shok Paris, Violent Night, and Destructor.
Funny anecdote about this one, it actually came up on my BandCamp page and the cover drew me in. I listed to about a minute or so of one track and thought “Damn, I gotta tell Rob (Site Owner) about this! Get it covered!” Lo and behold, he had already had a promo package from the band. I’ve decided this is fate.
Line-Up
Ed Stephens – Bass
Grady Wessollek – Drums
Zeke Brake – Guitars
Dylan Andras – Guitars
Hannah Renee Sowry – Vocals
Review
“Will of Man” was a wonderful arrangement of acoustic guitar, that occasionally reminded me of both Western and flamenco guitarwork. Real beautiful sounding strings, that remained in center stage, even after the electrics came in the background with some nice sustains. Good stuff that bled directly into…
“Nephilim” had a blitzing pace from the outset, with black metal adjacent drumming and a style that felt between speed and thrash. Hannah Sowry’s vocals had a raw shrieking edge to them that felt multilayered in their influence, the name that my brain was stuck on was Deb Levine from Lady Beast. Though Hannah’s shrieks were more in-line with someone else whose name escaped me at this time. Much faster and more frenetic than I was expecting, this one hit like a ton of bricks with incredible riffs, extraordinary drumming from Grady Wesollek, and a great mix that never once made any of the five-piece feel ‘less than’. A wonderful introduction to a new band and a fantastic opening salvo.
“Luminous Visions”, which features Matt Sorg from Ringworm and Shed the Skin, was next up and opened with an absolute crusher of a riff (the disgusting bass tone only propelled it further). Littered with some insane mosh-worthy riffs that would make even the hardest death metal bands look with envy, and with more human-made melody than a lot of power metal these days, this was once again a complete package. What is seriously lifting this up for me though is that production, it’s so raw and dirty (the way metal should be) and it just works wonders for this madness. Absolute mammoth of a song.
“Fast as a Shark”, yes that one. Iron Bitch’s third proper track is a cover of one of heavy metal’s most seminal songs ever released; a bold move to be sure. Right out the gate, the song nailed the bass tone dead-on. I appreciate that it’s both a homage to the original, while Iron Bitch also makes it their own without changing the track too much structurally. In my opinion, aside from the vocal delivery, the biggest change was in the actual sound of the guitar solo itself, which does sound completely different while being the same notes more or less. A more than worthy effort, Iron Bitch. Well done!
Next the band unleashes their eponymous track, “Iron Bitch”, began with a gravelly voice speaking of a prophecy before another crusher of a riff erupts (very Sabbath stuff). Despite the doomy introduction, the track itself was pure balls-to-the-wall speed/thrash with riffs that wouldn’t be out of place in late 80s greats like Death, Slaughter, or even Exciter. In fact, some of the riffs here verged on tech-thrash at times. Hannah’s vocals were on point throughout with multiple banshee cries that would terrify the Romans out of forests. Another great track!
“Power and Steel” was less thrash and more power/speed, reminding me a bit of Mountain King-era Savatage or Walls of Jericho-era Helloween. Featuring (probably) my favorite guitar solo on the album, the track offers another different slice of the Iron Bitch pie, showcasing the band’s varied influences from all over Metaldom. Yet another banger with some incredible production.
Conclusion
Iron Bitch’s debut EP surprised me a bit, I admit. I went into it expecting run-of-the-mill trad metal, but this is really more of a speed/thrash/power/trad hybrid, with hints of death and doom metal influences seeping through. It’s that variety of influence that really gives the record its greatest strength: diversity. Iron Bitch aren’t a band who are trying to pigeonhole themselves into any one sound or niche, instead being a sort of natural evolution of heavy metal before its descent into tribalistic sounds. On top of that, this is a debut EP with far more variety than some bands will put out in their entire careers. The production is immaculate, the riffs and basslines are equal parts crunchy and sleek, the drumming frenetic, and the vocals are a practical air raid siren. Do. Not. Miss. This. One.
TheNwothm Score: 9.5/10
Links
Bandcamp: https://ironbitch.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574618662055
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ironbitch_cle
