Welcome to another edition of From My Collection. Today we go back in time to 1984: A banner year for US power metal. The masterpiece releases from this year are endless. Jag Panzer’s Ample Destruction, Omen’s Battle Cry, Savatage’s The Dungeons Are Calling, Queensrÿche’s The Warning, Metal Church’s self titled; the list goes on and on. While nearly all of these bands would become beloved staples of the metal underground, and some even achieved major label success, a handful of these bands fell between the cracks. One such band is the topic of today’s essay. Who on earth are these warlords by the name Medieval Steel? What makes their self titled debut EP so epic? And why should you be ready to shell out hundreds of dollars on an original press? This week’s essay will attempt to answer all that and more, so grab hold of your trusty sword and prepare for battle.
Medieval Steel formed in 1982 as part of a wave of burgeoning American metal bands, inspired by the NWOBHM. Bands like Iron Maiden, Angel Witch, and Venom, just to name a few, upped the ante of what metal was capable of in their own unique ways. They expanded upon the groundwork laid down by acts like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, UFO, Rainbow, and Judas Priest, intensifying these musical tropes and paving the way for subgenres like thrash metal, black metal, and of course, power metal.
Although the genre is best known for its vast European scene, power metal as a full fledged genre originated in the States. The proto-type for the genre had been laid down in the 70s, thanks to Scorpions’ “The Sails of Charon”, Riot’s “Warrior”, and the entire B side of Rainbow’s Rising (1976). Manowar was arguably the first band to take this epic brand of metal, obsessed with themes of fantasy and battle, and capitalize on it with their debut album, Battle Hymns (1982). It wasn’t long until a sea of bands followed in this vein, many of which are mentioned in this introductory paragraph.
Just two years after forming, Medieval Steel honed their craft and set their sights on the studio, determined to create an epic slab of metal that would shake the headbanging legions to their very core. The end result was a namesake EP that, ideally speaking, should’ve had the same domino effect as Queensrÿche’s self titled or Mercyful Fate’s self titled. This was the age of the EP, or as many metal historians affectionately label it, “the mini LP”. I prefer to go with EP, because “mini LP” sounds as oxymoronic as “extended EP”, but maybe that’s just my Gen Z mindset.
Medieval Steel opens with its epic title track, that has since become nothing short of legendary. Why? Because “Medieval Steel” is the absolute epitome of US power metal. Dramatic synth buildup? Check. Ominous spoken word intro? Check. Glorious twin guitars? Check. Vocals that can break the sound barrier? Check. Lyrics that read straight out of Tolkien penned battle? You better believe it. It’s no wonder that nearly 40 years after its release, “Medieval Steel” continues to get euro fest audiences screaming at the top of their lungs, “MEDIEVAL STEEL! CUTS YOU LIKE A KNIFE! WARRIORS ON THE BATTLEFIELD LAYING DOWN THEIR LIIIIIFFFEEEE FOR STEEL!!!”
The following “Warlords” is epic in its own way, but adheres to a more traditional metal approach in comparison to the epic bombast of the title track. The lyrics remain battle themed, but the riffing and hooks come off as a doomy, arcane spin on prime Judas Priest. Not too fast and not too slow, “Warlords” is tailormade for mid tempo headbanging and fist pumping. As we flip over to side B, we’re greeted by the “march to battle” pace of the appropriately titled “Battle Beyond the Stars”. This early power metal anthem wound up on Megaforce’s From the Megavault compilation a year later. Why a full blown record deal with Megaforce never came to fruition is beyond me, and its inclusion on the comp could only imply that one was in the works.
Closing this all too brief effort out is one of the finest power metal ballads ever written, “Echoes”. After 3 songs of sorcery and steel, one would think that a passionate love ballad would derail the entire outing. That’s where you’re wrong. Medieval Steel packs as much power into this mellow and melodic piece as they do the other 3 songs on here. Call me crazy, but I seriously believe that had it been rerecorded with a more AOR centric production for a major label, “Echoes” would’ve catapulted Medieval Steel to superstardom.
So whatever became of Medieval Steel? Despite never “making it” commercially, the band has recorded and performed on and off for the better part of four decades now, spearheaded by founding singer Bobby Franklin. A renewed interest has led to them becoming staples of the underground metal festival scene, as well as the value of their scarcely pressed debut EP skyrocketing. Sure, it was rereleased via 2005’s The Dungeon Tapes collection, but who the hell wants a repress? The OG press is always the coolest. I should know, as this is one of the crown jewels of my collection.
As for the rest of the band, guitarist Jeff Jones passed away from an aneurysm in 2014. His shredding partner, John Roth, currently plays alongside Reb Beach in pop metal powerhouse Winger. Drummer Bill Jones (I’m not sure if he’s related to Jeff) left the band not long after the release of this EP. And although he was uncredited, bass was handled by producer Jack Holder, who also played guitar in Black Oak Arkansas and Cobra. Holder too passed away in 2015. Although some of these warlords have since fallen, the Medieval Steel legacy remains a shining example of prime US power metal, stronger today than ever before.