Release date: 22nd May
Label: DYING VICTIMS
The album is a love letter to followers of classic heavy metal steeped in sword and sorcery themes, the kind that drew from dark fantasy and tabletop role playing games, with Dio, Manowar, and Manilla Road as primary touchstones, all the way to more current pathbreakers such as Visigoth, Gatekeeper, and Owlbear. This release immediately stands out through its cover art, deliberately cheap-looking, evoking the illustrations of amateur fantasy enthusiasts.
Review
“Dungeon of Death…” With that proclamation, the album bursts open. The track features spacious guitar work supported by focused, hard-hitting percussion, delivering a steady and forceful punch, while the bass lines remain catchy and tightly locked with the kick drum. The twin guitar interplay is surprisingly restrained, restrained but never slow, operating instead at a mid-paced tempo without sacrificing strength or grandeur, alternating power chords with rhythmic patterns likely executed through downpicking, transmitting a palpable sense of power between spiraling melodic resolutions and harmonized passages performed with remarkable confidence and mastery.
Interestingly, the rhythmic assault is accompanied by a melodic lead guitar, making the distinction between bridge, chorus, and solo almost imperceptible, and while this is already characteristic of the opening track, it becomes even more apparent in “Slave to Sin.” Reptile Anderson’s vocal technique, he also handles bass duties, follows the same logic as the rhythm section: forceful in attack while projecting a strangely powerful and epic calmness, avoiding excessive high notes in favor of emphasizing phrasing without blowing out the listener’s ears. The result oscillates between sustained-note singing and a highly poetic recitative style that strongly reinforces the chorus.
“Death After Life” opens with a brief clean guitar intro before erupting into a distinctly hard rock riff, though stripped of any seventies glow and instead cloaked in a darkness reminiscent of Witchfinder General. Drummer P.J. “The Butcher” La Griffe delivers mature, steady-handed work behind the kit, never attempting to steal the spotlight or become the center of attention, but rather focusing on giving versatility and weight to the material. Built around classic 4/4 patterns, her performance achieves a balance that fits the band’s vision perfectly.
“Close to Combat” is pure rock and roll transformed into heavy metal. The bass wanders freely between the power chords while the drums march ahead at a rapid pace, punctuated by powerful martial fills during the more epic sections. It feels like standing on a battlefield with sword and shield in hand, driven by a rhythm section that remains danceable even as the riffs explode into fast and infectious territory. An outstanding track that will undoubtedly become one of the band’s live staples, as it has everything: heroism, eighties spirit, and excellent execution.
“Storm the Gate” moves within a similar register to its predecessor. The guitars sound open and spacious, with Stevie “Broke” Whiteless employing tight single-string sections driven by a firm and frantic rhythmic attack, constantly shifting at the end of each measure, matched by equally punishing vocal lines. Structurally, the song recalls the Swedish band Ambush: the strings charge forward recklessly while the drums rein them in like horses at the edge of a cliff. Galloping sections collide with rapid resolutions, melodic progressions, abrupt stops, and staggered instrumental reentries, ultimately turning this track into the crown jewel of the record.
“The Bird” serves as the finishing blow, a Sabbathian piece built upon striking melodic phrases spread across multiple cuts and progressions, without ever abandoning the heavy metal spirit that defines this album. The songs are constructed through steel-forged sonic blocks that never lose consistency or musical maturity, far removed from flashy technical exhibitionism, yet equally distant from mere rawness, achieving a balance that is rarely encountered within the scene.
Conclusion
What we have here is a mature work, far removed from the steroid-fueled explosions of hollow virtuosity that so often dominate the style with endless solos, exaggerated screams, and 220 BPM barrages performed with metronomic precision. Instead, Sandstorm favors craftsmanship: complex without becoming convoluted, simple without collapsing into the genre’s most overused clichés. The band fully embodies the core principle of traditional heavy metal: taking existing elements and revitalizing them with freshness, and by operating entirely within those coordinates, they have delivered a small 22-minute masterpiece.
TheNwothm Score: 9.9 (10 is reserved for the heavy metal gods!)
Links
Bandcamp: https://hotrockinsandstorm.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hotrockinsandstorm/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hotrockinsandstorm/
