Victory are back!

Well, to be more accurate, Victory guitarist Herman Frank is back, resurrecting the brand for Victory’s first release in a decade. But if you’re looking for other famous names from the band’s decorated history you’re in for a disappointment as monikers like Huhn, Garcia, Knorn, Newton and Randow are all missing from the teamsheet. But hey, this is 2021, and we’re all used to dealing with disappointment, right? Best just to have a listen to the record and make the best of things…

At fourteen tracks (if you include the short intro and the CD digipak bonus track) the first thought is that this is a lot of new-look Victory to digest, but the good news is Frank and co. keep things short and to the point and the whole album motors along in fine and, it has to be said, very Victoryesque style. When it’s good, on the excellent Dying In Your Arms or Unconditional Love, it’s very good indeed; the second part of this statement would obviously then continue ‘but when it’s bad’, but I can honestly say that there are no bad tracks on Gods of Tomorrow to harp on about!

There is, however, the odd bit of faceless if competent Euro metal – vocalist Gianni Pontillo doesn’t quite have the personality to lift the more workaday choons out of the mire – but for the most part there’s enough excitement to keep both old-timers at the Victory Saloon as well as newbies happy enough.

Malte Burkert and Mike Stein are a rock solid rhythm section in the time-honoured German melodic metal fashion, and Mike Pesin reprises his role as guitar foil in Herman Frank’s solo band very well indeed, meaning that the band acts as the well oiled machine you’d expect under the Victory banner; This isn’t going to win too many unbelievers over, but if the sound of classic German metal is your sound then there’s a fine time to be had with Gods of Tomorrow.

Gods of Tomorrow Releases on November 26th.