Sonic Age Records is a new Greek label spawned from Cult Metal Classics (most notable release: Under A Savage Sky by Jack Starr's Guardians of the Flame). Label honchos claim Sonic Age will release all kinds of metal and hard rock, but the first three titles from Overlorde, Valkija and Made of Iron are firmly rooted in traditional heavy/power metal. Not that there's anything wrong with that. In fact, if quality control is a strong predictor of a young label's future, Sonic Age should be around for awhile.
Take Made of Iron, a Greek-German quartet that masqueraded as an Iron Maiden tribute band before band members decided they could write their own material — and decent material, at that. The nine tracks on the band's full-length debut evoke aural images of Maiden, to be sure, but also Manowar, Primal Fear, Dream Evil and Hammerfall. Guitars galore! The lyrics are pure power-metal battle cries, but songs like "The Storm Just Began," "Never Deny Your Fate" and the ballad "Time to Repent" are rooted in a deeper and more personal place than the we-are-metal drivel of "Made of Iron." A spiritual element of sorts seems to be at work, lending Made of Iron more credibility than its name perhaps indicates.
Made of Iron is Sonic Age's strongest release thus far. Granted, the label has only issued three titles. But in a crowded field of heavy-metal contenders, for something this traditional to stick out, it has to be good.
Track Listing:
1) Fight for the Cross … Die for Jerusalem (5:02)
2) The Storm Just Began (4:55)
3) Made of Iron (6:26)
4) The Alchemist (5:15)
5) Never Deny Your Fate (6:12)
7) Time to Repent (4:06)
8) Gates to Purgatory (3:01)
9) King of All Kings (9:04)
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