SCREAM MAKER – Land of Fire

Polish heavy metallers Scream Maker re-issued their enjoyable BloodKing album via Frontiers Records not that long ago, which was a solid effort, and I was looking forward to cranking Land of Fire (their fourth and latest LP) up loud and see how they had developed since then.

Rooted in classic old school metal a la Judas Priest and Jag Panzer and boasting a big, state of the art production, the record is a love letter to pure metal and everything that is great about said genre. As you have probably already gathered, there is not a shred of innovation or originality to what these skilled musicians do, but the songs are so easy to absorb and so much fun to listen to that none of that stuff really matters. There is a good flow to the tracks and the album is nothing if not cohesive and loaded with bone-crushing riffs. Everyone involved chimes in with an admirable performance, and Land of Fire delivers what one needs when the mood calls for something that is in your face, straightforward, charming, and delightfully uncomplicated yet appealing and catchy. One of the highlights is the Maiden-esque ‘Everybody Needs Illusions’. Worth a handful of spins or streams.