Screaming steel! Spain’s Crimson Storm deal in just that over the course of eight tracks and an intro on their debut album Livin’ On The Bad Side…

As is the case often in the World of Euro Speed metal, Thundersteel-era Riot is a huge touchstone in the sound we’re being presented; However vocalist Pau Correas has a pleasing grit about his voice that stops the band tipping too far into the operatic excesses of Tony Moore on that famed elpee, giving the songs a ragged warmth that is sometimes missing in this genre.

That vocal style also lends itself to a more hard rocking approach, and the band are versatile enough to take advantage of this; Standout track Nightmare Deceiver, with it’s strutting bass, brutally simple riffage and big backing vocals, is a superb Accept/Loudness hybrid that’s sure to go down a storm live and is already livening the neighbours up round our way on a regular basis…

At the other end of the scale the superbly-named Headfükker  strips paint at a thousand yards whilst Speed Hammerin’ Metal does exactly what it says on the tin, enabling the lithe n’lissom drumming of Pol Esteban Sánchez to come to the fore as the band threatens to career over and into the abyss; They don’t, of course, but the sense of danger is pleasingly tangible and the guitars of Lögan Heads slash like razors on this one.

Harakiri Rendez-Vous is another highlight and another dip into the World of Rising Sun metal, and it has to be said that, a couple of flat moments aside, this is a very consistent – consistently good – album. Crimson Storm might not be a household name yet, but id there’s any justice Livin’ On The Bad Side will do a lot to change that sorry state of affairs very soon!

Livin’ On The Bad Side is out now.