Resistance. It’ s a powerful word, but an apposite one when used as the name for a US power metal band. For surely, on their new album, Skulls of My Enemy, resitance do just that – they resist even the whiff of anything modern as far as music is concerned, preferring instead to point the thoughts of the listener to the late eighties, and names like Riot, Leatherwolf, Meliah Rage and Fifth Angel

As if that wasn’t enough, on tracks like Nordic Witch and On Dragon Wings they prove their ability to weave in a hard rocking melodic sensibilities, which, given vocalist Robert Hett‘s occasional similarity to Blackie Lawless, can’t help but remind you of W.A.S.P. in their pomp.

Despite the album’s complete lack of originality, the sincerity with which the purebred heavy metal of Earthshaker and Templar’s Creed are delivered makes them utterly irresistible if you have even half a strand of headbanger running through the composition of your DNA; Dan Luna and Nano Lugo are axemen who ignite outbreaks of spontaneous air guitaring whenever they pick up their weapons of choice, and when backed by the brutal, rumbling basswork of Paul Shigo and the hellfire serenade of Matt Ohnemus‘ powerful drumming, they create a wrecking ball of pure heavy metal thunder that’s a joy to behold.

All your fave subjects are here – World War II, the Crusades, Witches, Necromancers, and, of course, heavy metal itself, meaning that this is just about a perfect exposition of eighties metal as played in 2022; There is not one single misstep to be found anywhere here, and the result is an album that is one of the most downright enjoyable I’ve stumbled across in a long, long time! Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls – All hail the new kings of old metal!

Skulls of My Enemy is out now.