Sometimes, a band will cross my radar that’ll make me ask the question, “Where the hell has this band been all my life?” Iron Slaught is one such band. In all fairness, while this French duo has been going strong since 2011, their output is quite minimal. They released their debut album, Crusading Metal Mercenaries, in 2015, followed by a split in 2018 alongside fellow Frenchmen, Tentation. It’s been 8 long years since we’ve heard anything new from this band, but they’ve now come storming back with a brand new album, Metallic Torments. And if their back catalog is even half as brilliant as this album, I’ve got some homework to do.
At their core, Iron Slaught embody everything pure and true about ’80s metal, refusing to be restrained by musical boundaries while adhering to a distinctly old school ethos. From NWOBHM and power metal, to speed and first wave black metal, all these influences and more can be heard across the 8 songs that make up Metallic Torments: Each song providing a distinct glimpse into one of the most unique metal bands to cross my radar in a long time. There truly is something for everyone on this album, and if you walk away dissatisfied, then you aren’t a metalhead, plain and simple.
Following an instrumental prelude entitled “Harbinger of Afflictions”, the band wallops us with a one-two punch of punishing speed in “Ghastly Obsession” and “The Executioner”. With their unrelenting tempos, demonic riffing, and blackened vocal delivery, these neck-snappers come off as the unholy spawn of Sentence of Death era Destruction and Gates to Purgatory era Running Wild, or perhaps even the latter act if they boasted the virtuosity of their pirate years during their satanic days. Yes, it’s blackened speed, but with an elevated twist. Come the uber-melodic “Soldier of Fortune”, the band shifts gears to traditional metal mode, showing that their knack for Maiden-flavored guitar parts and soaring clean vocals comes as effortless as when they’re thrashing around. The passionate “Charme funeste” expands upon this vein even further: An epic metal suite with hooks and emotion guaranteed to tug at your heartstrings.
The breakneck “Condamné pour l’éternité” is really the best of both worlds, specializing in the barbaric speed of the album’s first two cuts, but while retaining the traditionalism of “Soldier” in the musicianship. As I said earlier, the Running Wild-isms are apparent, as are similarities to French speed legends, ADX. As if Iron Slaught couldn’t expand their sonic palette any further, the album’s last two cuts, “Primal Conquest” and “Fatal Retaliations”, see them riding into battle, epic power metal style. Growled vocals of “Primal Conquest” aside, the licks are essentially Running Wild clashing with Maiden, while the closing “Fatal Retaliations” is a masterclass in Maiden-derived epic metal, rife with sprawling guitar work and unpredictable twists and turns.
I’m not sure if it’s the epic structures, the incredible variety, or simply a matter of “putting the right notes in the right places”, as my friend King Fowley of Deceased would say, but I haven’t been as moved by a new album as I have been by Metallic Torments in a long time. This album is most certainly in the upper echelon of 2026 metal releases, and bound to be a fierce competitor for album of the year. Contrary to its title, Metallic Torments is anything BUT a torment for lovers of unadulterated old school steel. It stands in a class of its own, as does Iron Slaught and their undying devotion to the greatest music on earth.
10 out of 10
Label: Gates of Hell Records
Genre: Heavy Metal
For fans of: Running Wild, Diabolic Night, Iron Maiden
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