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Cover taken from the most obvious of science fiction novels, rough voice and buzzing guitars in the foreground à la Iron Maiden/Judas Priest: the usual perfect cocktail with which, once again, Dying Victims offers us a record. This time we talk about the Finnish Sword Fighter – a name, a program – and their “World Fighter”, the third work by the quartet with a glittering career launched in 2016, following “Neon City”, released in 2019.
Already from the titles and the introduction you will surely understand where we are going: “World Fighter” has everything you need to make happy those who now have a jacket made only of patches, without even the denim fabric underneath. Choirs, reverbs, endless clichés, as you can immediately hear from the devastating opener “Vigilantes”, where great space is immediately given to Lightning Mike’s speed metal solos in the air.
The very rough voice of Jerry Razors is certainly not for everyone, but heavy metal is also this, with the air of a crowd agitator which materializes in the sacred “Church Of Rock” or in the very Maidenian “Against All Odds”. There is also something of the old Accept here and there, like in the very exciting “Weekend Warrior” or in the final “World Fighter”, all characterized by the kick drum thrown in by the new signing behind the Alexander Depraved skins.
Many steps forward have been made compared to the previous album: greater attention to the arrangements of the pieces which are always fresh, fun and epic, while always maintaining that lo-fi patina that makes all NWOTHM fans happy, with a more immediate predisposition to melody, especially through the rhythmic guitar arpeggios that enrich many of the pieces played. In short: half an hour of music made specifically to make us make a fool of ourselves on public transport, tapping our feet and head in time with all the epic stories told by the quartet; we would have liked to hear Angel Sword try out a slightly longer and more elaborate piece, but honestly it’s fine even this way.
So don’t expect a clean and refined heavy with all the possible flaws, but a record that makes roughness its strong point: “World Fighter” is certainly not an album for all ears, but for many it will certainly be a very pleasant discovery.
