The oddly-named Glanville are a new German act seemingly dedicated to recreating the glorious halcyon days of British heavy metal. By which I mean, of course, the years 1976-83…

First impressions count for a lot and, on the first listen to opening track God is Dead you’re smacked about the face quite insistently by the notion that you’re listening to Rainbow/Michael Schenker alumnus Graham Bonnet jamming with NWoBHM stalwarts Demon. It’s a strange – but not entirely unpleasant – listening sensation.

Of course, Avenged Sevenfold already have a vocalist that sounds like Bonnet, so Glanville must search elsewhere for their novelty factor. That they fail to find it is no surprise, but the unabashed melodic overkill of Dancing on Fire and the excellent closing offering Time to Go more than make up for any lack of originality, perceived or otherwise. If you love modern day traditionalists like Night Demon you’ll lap this up.

I must say I’m rather enamoured with the current move away from mixing the NWoBHM sound with harder, thrash and death elements; the movement’s prime movers were always about melody as much as muscle, and it’s great to hear ‘young bands’ like Glanville flexing their tune muscles so enthusiastically, not to mention effectively.

The EP only features five tracks, but this is enough to suggest that Glanville are certainly worth keeping an eye on. I look forward to hearing a debut full-length effort!

Glanville’s Debut EP First Blood is out now.