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WARDRESS
Metal ’Til The End

Black Sunset / MDD (2023)
Rating: 8/10

Ya gotta love the cover artwork of this one because it sets a wonderfully mystical 80s mood, but the music comes as quite a surprise because I guess I was expecting somewhat of an oaken traditional metal throwback. Instead, you get something far livelier which is blessed with an almost thrashy tone that brings to mind the sound of Metal Church who bridged that gap between heavy metal and thrash.

Germany’s Wardress originally formed back in 1983 but then vanished for some unknown reason three years later, but vocalist Erich Eysn remains from the that period and it is his distinctive warbles which drive this sophomore effort into your ears.

This quintet drives hard with every track and I’d like to turn your attention also to the cover rendition of Ozzy Osbourne’s ‘Mr Crowley’ which is delivered with devilish delight. But of the eight tunes served up one cannot overlook the powerful ‘Motorlust’ with its ominous rattles and the juggernaut ‘Serves You Right’ where drummer Andy Setter comes into his own, while the doomier grind of ‘Serpents Kiss’ really causes a shudder.

Metal ’Til The End might be somewhat of a corny album title but the music most certainly fits the bill. It could be argued somewhat that Wardress as a unit are a forceful proposition but lacking frills, but every now and then one craves to be force fed such driving, hard metal and Wardress provides ample ammunition with this steely structure.

Neil Arnold

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