Stormage - 'Dead Of Night'

It's a decent album if you take away the ballads.

It's been quite a wait for Stormage fans since their second album way back in 2007. The German quartet have been amusing themselves with other projects, but I guess the call of Stormage was too great and they've decided to reunite for ten fresh, Metal tracks that will delight head-bangers and hell-raisers. 'Dead Of Night' is an unashamedly Heavy Metal album, from the huge riffage to Heiko Heseler's angry, growly vocals.

'Instinct To Defend' takes the bull by the horns right from the off, with proper Metal drums pounding away at full speed, accompanied by Heseler growling away like a German Blaze Bayley (although not as good, to be honest). Whilst entertaining enough, it's all rather standard stuff, your usual raise-your-fist-and-yell fayre that is unlikely to spread much farther than existing fans.



They have a decent enough wall of sound and there's some decent melody within the Metal, but it's one of those albums that's hard to get too excited over. When they slow down a little, it doesn't help and it's clear that Stormage are a band best appreciated at loud volume and fast pace. 'Victim's Eyes', for example, shows that Heseler sings a ballad like man being water boarded whilst a Rottweiler nibbles at his testicles.

I'm in two minds over 'Dead Of Night'. For what it is, it's a decent album (if you take away the ballads) and if you play it loud then it's wonderful for annoying the neighbours. That said, it's not got anything that really stands out too much and the vocals are average at best. So I guess what we have here is something to be investigated if you are intrigued, rather than ordered without digging through YouTube first.

Alan Holloway