Air Raid – Fatal Encounter Review

I say if you discovered the guys on their debut, you won't find anything bad to complain about here. The production is better and mix, and Werner sounds excellent...

Label: High Roller Records

Genre: Heavy Metal

Release Date EU: February 24th, 2023

 

Line-Up:

Fredrik Werner – vocals
Andreas “Andy” Johansson – guitars
Magnus Mild – guitars
Jan Ekberg – bass
William Seidl – drums 

 

Tracklist:

Thunderblood
Lionheart
In Solitude
See The Light
Sinfonia
Edge Of A Dream
Let The Kingdom Burn
One By One
Pegasus Fantasy

 

The Swedish Heavy Metal outfit from Gothenburg, Air Raid has been cutting its teeth heavily in the Metal scene in Europe for a long time now. Formed back in 2009, they tracked a demo in 2011 on their first EP titled “Danger Ahead”, later to be followed by the most excellent debut “Night of the Axe”. That debut still ranks very highly among traditional heavy metal circles today. Although some probably aren’t too familiar with their music, a damn shame because these guys are consistently solid up to this point.

Curious to see the progression of the guys now in their official 4th album titled “Fatal Encounter”. Led by no-frills frontman vocalist Fredrik Werner, we have another solid slab of classic Heavy Metal that any new or old fan of the genre could be proud of. Comparisons to bands like Enforcer for instnace are not far off here.

The record gets going quickly with the first cut and single “Thunderblood”, a groovy number that features what the boys do best, melodic and catchy lines, with thick distortion and cunning riffs. For some odd reason, I keep hearing hints of old-school Talisman on “In Solitude”, man what an addicting chorus, and the guitars are super melodic here, nice bass line that works very well overall and is a favorite from this album. The sharp guitar solo in the trade-off harmonious opening riff in “Sinfonia” is blissful to listen to, the keys play along with the guitars are a treat to listen to. A keen little interlude to be had at the midway point.

One of the appeals of Air Raid is the melodic hooks in Werner’s voice, which works very well with the rest of the band. You hear this on songs like “Let The Kingdom Burn”, a nice groove-laden track with a traditional slab of Metal as good as they come.

I say if you discovered the guys on their debut, you won’t find anything bad to complain about here. The production is better and mix, and Werner sounds excellent on lead vocals. Air Raid are one of those bands that don’t get enough attention, you would do yourself a favor in checking them out promptly, a good one to add to any metal heads collection. Carry on.

 

Written by: Shadow Editor

Ratings: 8/10

 

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