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One of about two dozen bands by the name of Fortress on Metal-Archives, this group from California is joining the throng of bands playing traditional, ‘80s-style heavy metal (the "New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal, if you will) on their debut, Don’t Spare the Wicked. They have a fun, energetic approach to their music which takes neoclassical lead work and keyboard melodies and combines them with galloping bass and vocals not dissimilar to classic Iron Maiden. This is most notable on "Devil’s Wheel" and the bassist’s admiration for Steve Harris’ work shines through on "Find Yourself." Fortress sound more like Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force on "Lost Forever" and they wrap everything up in the speedy, anthemic title track to close out the album. Don’t Spare the Wicked is not a whole lot different from many of the traditional heavy metal out there currently but the songwriting is a notch or two above the crowd and the band plays with a lot of fire. This makes the album a treat that begs you to break out the air guitar and air drumsticks, especially if the heyday of melodic, traditional heavy metal is your thing.