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Ah, Martin Steene and Iron Fire are back with another album filled with his Danish take on Germanic Power Metal. Iron Fire is one of those bands that has found a niche and seems completely happy to fill that up with quality music while staying within established boundaries. Most of their work is kick-ass, guitar-based music perfect for throwing up your fists or breaking out the air guitar. 2012's Voyage of the Damned is no different except that it is a more science-fiction-based affair than past efforts, which tended to focus on fantasy topics. Steene's vocals possess a bit less of the Johnny Rotten sneer of the past and his range seems to have drifted a bit lower over the years, but they remain the defining sound of Iron Fire.

After the opening intro, Voyage of the Damned kicks off with one of the album's best songs, the balls-to-the-wall "Enter Oblivion OJ-666," a song about a spaceship on a doomed final mission. Science-fiction with double-kick drums; what more could you ask for? The rest of the album sticks with a more mid-paced tempo and the songs will probably sound familiar to long-time fans of the band, as they stick to their tried and true formulas. Steene and company branch out a little on Voyage of the Damned, notably with some harsher vocals on songs like "Leviathan" and "Slaughter of Souls." The title track is an epic, ten minute composition. The ballad, "The Final Odyssey," is a song about computer obsolescence that is sung in the first person and has a haunting melody.

Both the cast of musicians, stable for their third album, and the songs are rock-solid, things we've come to expect from Iron Fire. They aren't going to be accused of originality with Voyage of the Damned, but the album is full of catchy choruses and crunchy guitars so all fans of Power Metal should check it out.

Note: digipak version reviewed which includes the bonus track "Warmaster of Chaos"