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The Northern Ireland NWOBHM sons in Stormzone are back with a fresh studio album, and the strong frontman in the band John 'Harv' Harbinson (ex Sweet Savage) is still the vocalist in the band. In 2011 their last album (Zero To Rage) hit the streets and I found that disc very enjoyable. 'Three Kings' is their fourth album. The strongest parts in Stormzone's music is the excellent guitar work and the strong bonds to the classic heavy metal legacy of Saxon, Judas Priest, Iron Maidens and Queensrÿche 80s sound. I also like the personal vocal pitch that 'Harv' has in his voice and this together with the strong metal tracks on this album, it results in something, which should appeal to most of the fans of melodic heavy metal. The album kick off with one of the biggest tunes (The Pain Inside) on 'Three Kings'. The cool intro is growing into 'Maiden' style (with Paul Di'anno) and the guitars and drums explode when Harv starts to sing. The song could have be on Maidens 'Killers' album. The guitars are darker in next tune 'Spectre', which is a duller track with a excellent guitar solo. Next track puts 'Harv' on the thin line, because the vocals are demanding a lot from his voice. 'Stone Heart' is technical and he do manages the high pitch parts very well. The classic metal song 'Night of the Storm' is one of those mid-tempo songs that is at the average level, but when the ballad! 'Beware In Time' starts I raise the volume and gosh, that song was not something that I had expected. A high class track that shows the width these Northern Irishmen has in their musical portfolio. Magnificent guitars and superb vocals from 'Harv'. The title track 'Three Kings' is back in a galloping metal tempo and is one of the top five tracks on the disc. Heavy riffing and fast solid bass play is driving the song forward and I can't resist to sing-a-long in the choruses. The biggest difference from 'Zero To Rage' is the classy songs with a mature rhythm like 'The Pass Loning' and 'I Am the One'. The musical colours are darker overall on this album and this is their strongest work so far. The choice to have two guitar players is giving the sound that Judas Priest was know by, like in 'Wallbreaker'. When the beautiful guitars begin in 'Never Trust' I thought that they had another emotional ballad in the tracklist, but it went into a middle scale track. BANG YOUR HEADS is Harv screaming and that is the intro words to 'B.Y.H' and it is one of the few songs that didn't help push my overall rating over my magic 90 score. The track is probably a better live song with raised fists and so on, but on the album it's the lightning guitars that are the best parts. The closing song on 'Three Kings' is called 'Out of Eden' and it is my favourite track with progressive parts and a darker sound. Develop that metal sound a bit and I'll salute you! It's the blend of different tempos in the tracks, which puts big smiles on my face and drives me to listen to this nice album over and over. I'm still surprised that these guys haven't reached a the bigger audience, because this is true British heavy metal with a big nd genuine heart. I have to give the drummer Davy Bates extra credits for his solid work, especially on the track 'Out of Eden'. If you still like the old school British heavy metal with big guitars, strong vocals and groovy metal, is Stormzone's new album a given purchase.
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