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ROADHOG
Gates To Madness

Ossuary (2022)
Rating: 8/10

The cover artwork of this third full-length opus from Polish metallers Roadhog looks like it’s for a death metal album but the band name and look reminds me of Tank! However, the sound of this four-piece from Kraków is what really surprises me. Vocalist Krzychu Lawless has quite a rough and gravelled approach while the sound of the band has a New Wave Of British Heavy Metal-feel mixed with something more melodic, and that’s the real surprise here.

The killer chorus on the title track has an airy hard rock feel, the sort of uplifting grit I’d expect from a UK act, but there are other elements of intrigue here. The fiery riffs, the big melodies, it’s all here, and one could state this is very much old school metal revival because when you tuck into a track like ‘Gypsy’s Curse’ or the hammering ‘Surreal Overdose’ you’re in that dark mist of the 80s where bands like Meliah Rage would toy with thrashier, heavier chimes but keep you deep rooted in their strange brew of steady metal outpourings.

There’s something understated about this album. At times I think of acts like Enforcer, but then I’m battered by the anthemic ‘Misery Loves Company’ which is a cool slice of melodic rock, while ‘Unleashed’ has a deadly fresh rattle.

The fact that Roadhog are able to supply so many commercial dynamics but then hit you with a fizzing, thrash assault is testimony to their quality. Tracks like the crunching ‘Masquerade’ and the shimmering powerhouse of ‘Be Careful What You Wish For’ are sublimely delivered and yet provide so many different metallic strands to grasp on to. Gates To Madness is energetic, crisp and memorable metal that defies its cover art and I’m all for surprises.

Neil Arnold

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