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You don't often find split releases outside of black and death metal but that's just what Gates of Hell Records has done with Split 2018 featuring some great traditional metal from Canada's Traveler and Finland's Coronary.

Traveler gets things started with "Starbreaker", "Behind the Iron Curtain" and "Mindless Maze". The vocals remind me a little of Sanctuary's Warrel Dane but the music is more in the vein of early 80s Judas Priest. The vocal lines feature more than a few high-pitched screams and there is some nice twin-guitar work on display. All three songs sound vaguely familiar to one another as the guitars tend to sit on the same riff pattern but at least the band chose a good one to flog.

Coronary also gets three songs and also seems to have a chunk of Priest in their DNA. Every time I hear the opening riff and drum fills of "Firewings", I start to sing "Freewheel Burnin'" Thankfully, the song veers into more original territory a few bars in. Coronary's singer reminds me of Malice's James Neal and the songs after "Firewings" ("Bullet Train" and "Mestengo") have more of a bluesy, US Metal vibe than the first cut (or the Traveler songs, for that matter).

Split 2018 gives a glimpse into what looks to be a strong future for both Traveler and Coronary. Here's hoping each band can conjure up debut albums as strong as the three tracks on display here.