Blessing in the Skies

I came across Axemaster when searching the barren lands between the east-coast and the mid-western scenes for tractor-riding, middle American heavy metal worth a damn. Bands like Axtion, Thruster, Damien, Ded Engine and the like had given me an itch I need to scratch, so I set about it. The Ohio/Illinois scene has a habit of highly Conan-esque trad, mixed with some slight pepperings of power, glam or melodo – and it can really be a fun scene to explore. Axemaster wasn’t the crème-de-la-crème of the scene, but made for a suitable presence in the second tier. ‘Blessing in the Skies’ kicked out in ‘87 and seemed content to stamp out middle of the road musings very much aligned with the heavy metal camp, forgoing the wimpy beauty of the white collar, and instead pounding out oft’ middle of the road crunching metal in the vein of Warchylde and the Omen.

Axmaster’s LP ain’t a total loss – it doesn’t sink as low as Vicious Barreka or even Byfist, but it lacks the captivating nuances of the raw USPM contemporary, or the classy anthemism of fellow trad-sters Damien. Most material isn’t bad, but cruises along in the dimension behind ours, not jumping out too much with a bone shattering riff or a beautiful spine tingling vocal, say something from Graven Image, or Serpents Knight, or the rip roaring assault of Thruster. There are a couple of fun little riffs – even emotive ones (check The Reaper), but things here feel a little demo-ish and incomplete. Perhaps another band that may have benefited from some more time (god knows I’ve seen a good few). The end product feels not without potential, but certainly not living up to standards set by similar Great-Lake regioners of the era. Watch out for a few bitchin riffs, and some real working class vibes, but don’t expect top-notch.

-DeathRiderDoom