Power Metal
Escape Music
Release Date – January 23rd 2026
Line Up:
John ‘Harv’ Harbinson – Vocals
Shaun Nelson-Frame – Guitar
David Shields – Guitar
Jan Uhlin – Bass
Petro Uhlin – Drums
Tracklist:
Titanic (Steel Meets Ice)
Tyrannosaur (Screaming In The Night)
My Immortal Beloved
Stand In Line
The Hammer Has To Fall
Hands Held High
Iron Clad
Blood And Tears
The Reckoning
The Light Of Day
Until I Found You
Heart On Fire
Facing Time
I’m going to be honest – I have played this to absolute death because I enjoyed it so much. Stormzone were an AOR band back in the day but have since developed into a mighty metal monster and this is without doubt the finest thing they have ever committed to whatever medium you like to listen to. Hailing from the wonderful city of Belfast this is their eighth full length since their formation over twenty years ago.
Opener ‘Steel Meets Ice’ sets the stall out straightaway with some superb chunky riffage, loads of double kick action and soaring vocals then for me the track of the album the utterly superb ‘Tyrannosaur’ opens with a twin guitar intro before it eases smoothly into a fist pumping metal anthem with a hook so big you could catch Moby Dick. ‘My Immortal Beloved’ has a vicious riff and a barrage of kick drums over another quality vocal melody before the storming ‘Stand In Line’. ‘Hammerfall’ has a keyboard intro over some crunchy guitar lines before they leave, then singer John ‘Harv’ Harbison takes over before they all join in on the huge chorus. This is going to sound massive live and bound to get the fists pumping. ‘Hands Held High’ is another fist pumper then the crushing ‘Ironclad’ does some serious damage with Harbison going to the top of his range. We get a power ballad on ‘Blood And Tears’ which starts with a beautiful bright piano line before the molten metal of ‘The Reckoning’ where Harv lets out a proper scream before the epic ‘Light Of Day’ which has a keyboard intro very similar to Sweet’s ‘Fox On The Run’. ‘Until I Found You’ rattles along at a fair old clip before it settles into a power metal pounder and leads to another on ‘Heart Of Fire’ before the punch-up metal of ‘Facing Time’ closes the album in fine style.
There’s me thinking that the Power Metal domain is strictly for the Europeans. How wrong I was! Stormzone can go up against the best of them and put up a decent fight. All involved should be justly proud of what they have created here. Superb songs, excellent, memorable melodies and some world class performances. Guitarists David Shields and Shaun Nelson-Frame (who also produces) have the gift of the riff and fluid fingers too; the rhythm section are tighter than ducks bum and singer Harv makes it sound effortless. Awesome – Fantastic – Superb and loads of other adjectives that don’t seem enough to describe this.
Written by: Smudge
Ratings: 10/10
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