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IRONFLAME
Where Madness Dwells

High Roller (2022)
Rating: 7.5/10

Whether you like Ironflame or not, you can’t argue the fact that there’s hardly a more metal band out there. Where Madness Dwells is the fourth full-length opus from the Ohio-based quintet and this is a return to form if you will, although the band has remained pretty consistent throughout its career so far.

Driven by the vocals and all-round talents of Andrew D’Cagna (also of Brimstone Coven and Icarus Witch), Ironflame channels that Iron Maiden-style of galloping metal spirit – anthemic, energetic, and glinting in its steely construction like an old trusted sword. Indeed, Ironflame’s latest offering makes me search for superlatives that require sword and sorcery comparisons.

Opener ‘Everlasting Fire’ comes out the traps steeped in melody yet with more leather than a wizard’s satchel. There’s the trundling bass, the steady percussion, the fiery axe work and of course the Dickinson-cum-Dio vocal duties. The end result is a smorgasbord of molten metal hotter than a dragon’s breath.

Okay, I’ll cease with the cheese, but for a band I’ve been on and off with over the years, Where Madness Dwells has dug its claws in to my flesh and I’m on board as ‘Under The Spell’ races with mesmeric aplomb, bordering on thrash with its exuberance fuelled by James Babcock’s stony bass. Then there’s that killer chorus, taking the track into the stratosphere as all hands point to the zenith.

The melodious hooks keep on coming. ‘Kingdom Of Lies’ has a nice mid-tempo chug, while ‘Ready To Strike’ begins with galloping thrash grooves although is a tad repetitious in its chorus. But it’s still catchy and effective, as are ‘A Curse Upon Mankind’ with its infectious melody, ‘A Funeral Within’ with its doomy nuances, and the excellent title track with its sizzling introductory riff propelled by Noah Skiba’s drums. The axe work, meanwhile, on ‘The Phantom Flame’ has to be admired also, the band nifty, airy and yet nostalgic in its pummelling.

Sure, it’s stereotypical metal in whatever route it takes, but for a night at ye olde inn what better soundtrack in preparation for a war with the Orcs which lurk outside.

Neil Arnold

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