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To fully comprehend metal, you have to first comprehend its aesthetic, its culture, and its soul. Epic heavy metal is an exercise on understanding metal for what it is meant to be, and pouring your sweat and blood into every note like a blacksmith pounds his hammer on the anvil to create the sharpest, deadliest of swords.

Ironsword understands traditional metal for what it is. So much so that Servants of Steel is exactly what the name suggests: an ode to the true, stainless and honorable elements that old masters like Manilla Road, Manowar and Cirith Ungol graced us with. From the vocal lines divided by the harsh and the ethereal, Shelton-esque nasal speeches, to the crunchy riffs accompanied by brutal drumming, everything here sweats and bleeds heavy metal to the bone.

Following the same tried-and-true formula, the Portuguese trio has delivered what was expected of them in this long-awaited sequel to None but the Brave (2015), so get your chainmail out of the closet and gear up for yet another journey to the heydays of epicness and simple, no-frills pure metal. Mark Shelton stands proud in Valhalla.