German rockers Night Laser exist comfortably at the intersection of hard rock and heavy metal, churning out a noise with enough earworm action to keep the connoisseurs happy whilst not being afraid to put the hammer down when needs must. What they do, they do very well – very well indeed.

Tracks like the semi titular Don’t Call Me Hero ooze a self confidence that stay just the right side of cocky – these blokes clearly know they have what it takes to make a bit of a noise on the Euro metal scene – but it’s a self confidence that’s entirely justified, as wherever you look (or, more importantly, listen), they deal out the good stuff in fine style.

Any band that can save it’s best for a bonus track (well, their best in my opinion, anyway) knows it’s on a good wicket, and Thin Ice is the sort of song most bands of Night Laser’s comparatively young vintage would kill to have such a track in their arsenals, believe me. Of the regular tracks on offer, the trad metal of Law of the Vulture features some fine lead work – Vincent Hadeler or Felipe Zapata Martinez might be responsible, but, as ever, our review copy of the album doesn’t specify – whilst the party metal of Laser Train shows off the band in ‘fun’ mode, but best of the bunch is epic closer Fiddler On The Roof, which shows a Helloween-like maturity and an ability to tell a tale in captivating fashion. Tobias Sammet might be looking over his shoulder at Benno Hankers before too long!

If pressed for a comparison, I’d say Night Laser remind me a bit of Mad Max in their youthful pomp, but the good news is this band already have more than enough personality of their own for comparisons to be unnecessary. I’d recommend you give this a listen as soon as you can – you can thank me for the tip later!

Call Me What You Want releases today (May 24th)