Second album by the German power metal band.

Hmmmm… Steel Engraved is a power metal band from Germany, and I sometimes think that if you shake a tree in Germany a power metal band will fall out. There’s so many of them, and as a result it’s very hard to stand out from the crowd, similar to the bland pop scene in Britain but with more gurning.

‘On High Wings We Fly’ is the band’s second full length album, and they have gained a good reputation through touring with the likes of W.A.S.P and Circle II Circle, and I would imagine that, walking away from the concert, people would probably concede that the support band were ‘pretty good’. They tick all the right boxes, with pounding drums, classical influences and in Marco Schober a vocalist who is interestingly like a mix up of Bruce Dickinson and Blaze Bayley. There’s really nothing here that doesn’t do exactly what it says on the tin, and it’s all helped by a very clean production from Geoff Thorpe.

The thing is (and there’s always a thing), Steel Engraved, for all their obvious musical talent, are rather forgettable. This is one of those albums that is fun whilst you listen to it, with some nice touches sprinkled about, but hard to recall when it’s not actually playing. There are some good songs, with the lengthy ‘Solitary Mission’ particularly impressing with some tight instrumental work, and it’s a shame that the whole thing doesn’t grab you by the balls and shout in your face. Instead it high fives you and grins like a friendly squirrel. A nice squirrel, sure, but one that needs to get back up in it’s tree and think like a Rottweiler.

Alan Holloway