"All songs composed by METAL SWORD". This is what the back cover proudly announces - and this probably constitutes one of the reasons why "Harder Than Steel" fell on deaf ears. But I do not want to be unfair. Metal Sword tried to convince with six pieces that took place in close proximity to the works of other German bands such as Atlain, Chainsaw or (early) Steeler. Speed metal tunes like the opener met traditional metal songs. Unfortunately, "traditional" was a synonym for "lame" in the world of Metal Sword. It boggles the mind to listen to an unobtrusive song called "Stormrider". When does the storm begin to blow? Never, my friends, never. The tune passes by while creating no more than a gentle breeze.
Wishbone Ash was surely not the richest record label, but this alone is no excuse for the shortcomings of the production. It starts with the powerless drums. They fail to ensure a stable level of heaviness. In addition, the lead vocalist with the legendary pseudonym "Jay Jay the Fist" does not only look like a pupil who wears strange clothes. The bigger problem is that his thin voice is hardly audible during the second tune. From this follows that his aggression level does not surpass that of Mahatma Gandhi. After this catastrophic performance, it appears only logical that he gets support as soon as possible. To quote once again the back cover: "Special thanks to Satan for singing on the third track". Nice to know that it is the devil himself. Hey, Satan, do you hear me? You sound like a drunken dwarf. Only for the sake of completeness, I have to mention the acceptable guitar sound. But it is surprising that the bass player seemingly had no time for joining the complete recording session. His instrument appears only occasionally.
With the exception of the thrilling and currish opener, the songs fail to hit the nail on the head, albeit I also recognise that the chorus of "Dying for the Sword" indicates the song-writing abilities of the five guys. Nevertheless, the tracks lack of ideas. This criticism also includes their "super hit" called "Disco is Fuck" explicitly. Please do not get too enthusiastic about its subtle title, because the composition itself is even "better". A primitive up-tempo eruption that nobody needs. This nonsense was surely the result of a long development process. I still do not know why this insubstantial tune was highlighted with a sticker on the front cover.
In a nutshell, these debutants could not conceal the fact that they were yet at the beginning of their career. Too bad that they had simultaneously already reached its end. Let me quote the back cover for the last time: "BELIEVE IN THE SWORD" was written in capital letters. Sorry, I can't.