There used to be a saying amongst sound engineers of my acquaintance that would be gleefully trotted out (behind the backs of those concerned, natch) whenever an artist complained about the quality of the mix they’d been given in the live setting. That saying was ‘shit in, shit out’, and I beg the forgiveness of all concerned with the new Iron Allies album, Blood In Blood Out, that this was my first thought when I heard the title of this new record…

…Because, quite truthfully, there is absolutely no shit to be found anywhere within quite a large radius of this superhero team-up between two former Accept alumni, guitarist Herman Frank and vocalist David Reece – Iron Allies is a meeting of metal minds that is unstinting in it’s commitment to provide the listener with high quality melodic heavy metal, let there be no doubt of that.

Unremittingly old school in outlook, Blood In Blood Out will find a welcoming home wherever melody is revered as much as muscle, and wherever seemingly quaint values such as application and effort are still held dear. But whilst Iron Allies are undoubtedly workmanlike, it’s the attitude to their craft which sees them over the winning line time and again.

We’ve long held it to be truth here at Sentinel Daily that David Reece is one of the last great classic metal singers, and he proves that time and again over the course of the dozen slices of finely wrought metal on offer here. His versatile larynx handles anything in Frank’s songwriting canon, from the AC/DCish strut of Freezin‘ through the unabashed Euro power metal of Truth Never Mattered to more straightforward fayre such as third single Destroyers of The Night or the fabulous closing track We Are Legend (You and I); His easy-on-the-ear mix of rocking grittiness and bluesy langour is a one-size-fits-all panacea for the ears that, however heavy the material, still manages to convey the emotion behind the lyrics. It’s skill, it’s style, it’s craft – call it what you will, but once again Reece makes a match winning contribution throughout the album.

And of course Frank isn’t to be left out of the praise; A man with an innate feel for what makes a memorable metal riff, he crams the songs with fabulously fitting fretwork at every turn, backed by rhythm guitarist Mike Pesin who delivers solid rhythmic counterpoint to the more Frank’s more florid playing. What the pair offer might not reinvent any wheels, but it hits paydirt pretty much every time.

Blood In Blood Out releases on October 21st.