STALLION – Rise and Ride

The German speed/heavy metal brigade returns for a full length record, impressing audiences all over the globe with last year’s "Mounting the World" EP. "Rise and Ride" contains 10 songs, 2 of which appeared on the EP in "Canadian Steele" and "The Right One" – so let’s look into the 8 newer tracks, shall we?

Impressive right out of the gate for the title cut is the highly engaging melodic guitar lines, reminiscent of early Iron Maiden – the prophetic narrative, ominous ‘beast’ that gives way to the high pitch vocal action from Pauly. The chorus and generally street level tempo has a lot of crossover appeal to those who love Running Wild, Accept, and even early W.A.S.P. Bassist Niki gets to take the lead before the Axxl/ Olli G. axe tradeoffs begin, a trademark of Judas Priest for certain but should still galvanize the masses. "Wild Stallions" picks up the pace, a solid speed metal effort that has a lot of that early Savage Grace edge, the unison word/riff combinations and start/stop action mandatory for all metal maniacs. "Stigmatized" has a lot of early Metallica qualities, including a tip of the cap to "The Four Horsemen" at 3:14-3:23 in terms of the guitar/drum gallop.

The production values are stripped down and as clear as possible from a raw, analog perspective – which pleases me to no end because I’m tired of hearing digital compression killing snare sounds, bass tones, and the natural edge you need to keep classic power/speed metal kicking out of your stereo system. Occasionally the band veer towards the roots of hard rock, check out "Bill to Pay" for something that I could easily have heard from early Ratt or possibly Rough Cutt circa 1984.

10 songs, 42 minutes of classic high pitched singing, street level metal, and championing the 80’s style – "Rise and Ride" will find ardent followers and keep Stallion on the radar for newer bands who are unapologetic in their affinity for the cause.

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www.hrrecords.de