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Nothing like finding a band with a cool name that has the chops to back it up. Hellspike are a young Portuguese act that are unsurprisingly all about fast, raw, old-school Thrash. This kind of thing can end up being amateurish and sloppy, especially on a debut, but despite only forming in 2019, they prove themselves to be damn solid musicians that can do more than just blast away. Make no mistake, Lords of War spends most of its time putting pedal fully to metal, but they do slow down at times and even incorporate elements on NWOBHM, as they do on "Fallen Empire" and the title track. This is all leveraged by the Maiden-inspired guitar work of Zellpike and the Schmier-esque delivery of vocalist/bassist Rick Metal, who even sounds a bit like Tanali Jarva during Amok-era Sentenced in places. There are a couple of instrumentals that might be seen as overkill for a debut, and they aren't doing anything novel, but I for one welcome any band that follows the old-school sound and does it this well. A band to watch.