Princess of Steel

Angry Angels play a steamrolling, midpaced instance of epic power metal very much in the vein of Manowar and later Rebellion. I'm not privy to the history of this band, but the two demos that they rattled off shortly after conception are well-produced and professionally presented. Sadly, the band never committed any further time to the studio, resulting in what I can only guess were sporadic live performances for the ensuing decade until their dissolution just a few years ago. If you have an ear for this particular denomination of heavy/power metal that puts some well-meaning emphasis on the heavy, Angry Angels apparently have your number, and the higher production values here on Princess of Steel makes it easy to appraise as a finalized product concerning both vision and concept.

And speaking of concept, these Austrians waste no time setting the Hyborian stage with the stellar title track, which is essentially a spoken-word narrative. On its own it is rather rote stuff, but Bruder's musings are laid over the one...the only...greatest soundtrack of all time. Of course I am referring to Conan the Barbarian, and the band accurately picks out some of the better motifs from the film, piecing them together into a great first impression and authoritative way to stoke the fire. "Metal Crusaders" rumbles out of the gates next, riding that granite-fused, well-worn note progression into the ground with great returns. Vocals just ooze attitude, and you can even hear Bruder spit out some broken teeth at one point! His gravelly tenor falls closest to Michael Seifert, but he doesn't have the thunderous pipes of the latter either. I think that if the vocals were more diversified, it would work even better, but that isn't to discount his high-octane euphemisms either. Lyrics are pretty standard stuff for the style, sort of like Wizard without the teenage obsession with everything Odin. Some of Bruder's oeuvres desperately call for someone, anyone to hear his pleas: "At the iron gates of Hades - I`m burning for you!" but most of the concept revolves around typical fare that needs no more clarification; you already know what it is about, so grab your favorite LARPing gear.

As stated, everything sounds stellar for a demo tape. Particularly impressive is the guitar tone, which is a boomy, mid-level assault on the senses that slips over the remainder of the sound effectively. Distortion is very bottlenecked yet quite smooth, which really picks up some speed during the faster, Judas Priest-influenced passages. In fact, the riffs remind me quite a bit of Avenger's debut Prayers of Steel. The irony concerning the titles of both releases is apparently no mistake, as there are quite a few similarities in both narrative context and overall atmosphere employed. Remaining standouts include the dissonant, more grumbling bruiser "Shadow of the Ring" and "Realm of the Dragon," which flips on the double bass and introduces some fizzling gallops into the proceedings. I could probably do without the W.A.S.P cover, but at least they picked one of the band's greatest songs, and transpose it well courtesy of their own characteristics.

So to reiterate, I do find it a shame that Angry Angels called it quits, as they could have gone a lot farther with this sound. Bruder's audacious vocals are an acquired taste of sorts, sort of like Chris Boltendahl, but that doesn't take anything away from the passion in his performance, and on Princess of Steel passion goes a long way to underpin the path to a solid final product and fine example of this particular subgenre. Recommended for fans of true heavy metal with a pinch of Teutonic abrasiveness!