Windrider

AxeHammer is the unsung, underground demo-heroes from the eighties who suddenly vanished into nothingness, released an EP in '98, vanished out of thin air again before putting out this, their first full length Windrider in 2005. And what a debut. This contains everything a good heavy metal album should contain. This isn't just an regular album, it is a freakin' lesson in how good modern hevay metal should be executed. Forgive me if this review is somewhat short, but I really don't know what to say. The riffs, the vocals, the solos, the drumming is executed flawlessly. There is not one boring moment on Windrider. From the opening blastfest that is Stand Up and Fight to the jaw-dropping title-track, this is packed with energetic riffs, soaring and cacthy vocal melodies, sing-along choruses and bonebreaking rhythm patterns. The driving force behind this has to be the charging riffs that guitarist Jerry Watt keeps churning out at full speed. On the other hand, the drums and the vocals are also very dominant. Imagine a structure where the bass and pounding drums is the foundation wall, providing a firm backbone and delivering thnderous beats and fills. Bill Ramps's soaring vocals flies sparkling trough the air, slightly guttural, carrying the music to new levels, whilst Jerry Watts playing tops the sky-scraper. Some of the songs drifts into power metal territory, especially the upbeat opener and the battle anthem Rise Up. The mighty Power and the absolutely brilliant Windrider are just great heavy metal essentials, which does nothing but establish my impression of this band being one of the greatest in the US scene. If you're a sucker for pure heavy metal, you'll be overly satisfied after a couple of spins. If this doesn't click at an instant nor grow on you, then nothing will. Period. Bottom line, the underground US demo-legends is back with a great pure heavy metal album. Sentinel Steel did a great catch here and sure picked up a long-forgotten act, full of potential and loaded with energy. Lets hope that AxeHammer will keep up the good work, and keep providing us with such enjoyable listening experiences in the future. Myspace