Demo

If, like me, you're forever pining for Traveler's return trip (aside from last year's singular tribute to Diamondhead), check out axe wizard Toryin Schädlich's namesake project, simply titled Schädlich, which, on first glance, made me think of "schadenfreude", the German term for daily Tik Tak activity. Also, don't be thrown off by the crappy production of its titular three track demo, as there's some snazzy trad metal going on.

A further justification for Schädlich's curious moniker stems from the front line participation of relative Faith on lead vocals and guitar, with fellow Hazzerd bassist David Sprague and drummer Darren May completing the quartet's line-up. Alongside festive throwbacks to less spiteful times "Final Call" and "Return Of The Queen" comes a compatibly killer cover of Gary Moore's "Out In The Fields". Aside from maybe a Mark Reale era Riot reprise, I can't think of a better option to properly project Schädlich's powerful 1980s nostalgia.

Sadly, the demo's fourteen minutes feel muddied as far as sound quality goes. All the same, rest assured this Calgarian spin-off is far from a shallow vanity project, and I can only hope for a proper, elongated recording soon enough.