Woohoo!! Not only is our beloved heavy metal genre alive and well, judging from this comp's title there's actually people defending it. How nice!!

All joking aside, this compilation is a fairly decent attempt to introduce us to various as yet unknown heavy metal bands from around the world (well, the USA and Europe that is). The emphasis is on traditional forms of heavy metal, so you won't find any fabricated metalcore anger or nu metal kids trying to be rappers here...which is a good thing I guess. I have to say this comp kinda takes me back to my youth, when labels like Shrapnel, Metal Blade and the British Ebony records put out lots of these things. I bought a lot of them back then. They even got the silly-yet-endearing cover art right. Usually the problem with a lot of these comps is that the musical and production quality tends to vary a lot, but I have to say the general quality level here is reasonably consistent.

If there's one thing this collection proves it's that traditional heavy metal comes in many forms and shapes. In terms of sheer heaviness JESTERS MOON, DR. MASTERMIND (remember him?) and VICTIM (all from the USA) definitely take the cake. The most traditional sounds come from the likes of ANTARES (great opening riff!), RAPID FIRE (both from Poland) and BABYLON from the USA. Just close your eyes and feel yourself transported back to the days of the NWOBHM. THE PROWLERS, METHARIA (both from Italy) and SABATAN (from Spain) all operate on a somewhat more epic level.

There's melodic metal from ELEMENT, STILL LIFE (both from the US) and STAIRWAY (from the UK) and even a genuine piece of traditional hard rock from Italy's RAIN with their great contribution "Only For The Rain Crew". Power metal comes in the form of Sweden's MOONLIGHT AGONY with their instrumental "Moonlit Horizon" and the Austrian bands MADOG and ART OF FEAR, who both contribute speed metal songs with cheesy-yet-catchy choruses like HELLOWEEN used to make 'em.

Musically the most unusual track comes from a British band called MERCURY RAIN, whose combination of heavy riffs with weirdly angelic female vocals and twinkling keyboards brings to mind a heavier version of THE GATHERING. Likable enough but probably something of an 'acquired taste'.

What I always liked about these compilations is that there was always something called 'the standout track', and on this album it's provided by a band who call themselves THE HELL CANDIDATES. The song is titled "The Dead Keep Dying" and not only does it prove that being groovy and catchy does not necessarily make a song less metal, it's also my favorite song of the year so far. Like I said, the quality level is fairly consistent here, but this song alone makes the thing worth buying. If all their material is this great I've got myself a new favorite band.

Finally, while I'm not really worried about the future of metal, I still think our favorite kind of music could use a little more 'defending'. In other words, bring on Vol 2!!

- Van Hoften

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