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Medieval Steel have had a long, strange journey to where they are now. Originally they released their self-titled EP in 1984 and that was pretty much it, until copies of that EP started to circulate online and garner them an almost legendary reputation as a lost classic band. In 2005, a compilation of the EP tracks and some additional material was self-released by the reformed band as The Dungeon Tapes, and it created a minor earthquake in the underground, as it was so very, very good. No Remorse Records put out a slightly remixed version of the compilation in 2012, and the band was a going concern again, complete with some festival shows that cemented their reputation. In 2013 they put out Dark Castle, which was not an album of new material, but rerecordings and reworkings of old songs, and only released in 200 copies, so it was a bootleg-only album, pretty much.

So, in a lot of ways, Gods of Steel is the proper debut full-length for this venerable band, coming almost a decade after their last limited-release album, and for the first time consisting of all-new material. Lots of times, classic-era bands suffer when they have to compose new stuff, but I have to say Medieval Steel have managed this album really well. The production is pitch-perfect, being sharp but not too glossy, with a definite focus on making the riffs and leads shine. This has always been a classic, riff-oriented band, and that continues here. There are some really strong songs, even if maybe not as good as classic cuts like "Battle Beyond the Stars" or "Ghost on the Battlefield." I am all in favor of tunes like "Gods of Steel," "Soldier of Fortune" or "Maneater". You might expect that vocalist Bobby Franklin would not be up to the drill after all this time, but he sounds fantastic. He doesn't pull off the high highs like he used to do, but otherwise he sounds like no time at all has passed since 1984. Overall, that's the sound the whole band is going for here, and they pretty much nailed it.