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Germany's Reverend Hound has been kicking around since 2008 though the cover to their second album, Deal in Steel, certainly takes its inspiration from the '80s when bands like Running Wild and Grave Digger flew the flag high for German heavy metal. They apparently started out playing thrash metal, but Deal in Steel is pure, pounding traditional metal with clear, strong vocals, a satisfying guitar tone and plenty of melodic hooks for your listening pleasure. The songwriting is generally solid with some cuts really getting the feet tapping ("Rain") while others are less polished, like "Fallen Angels" where the vocal lines sound clunky and out of sync with the melody. That's my main complaint about Deal in Steel, as it generally does what it does as well as you could ask, which is getting your head banging. It's hardly original, but when metal is played well and with energy and conviction, that's not much of a hurdle. Good, straight between the eyes stuff from Reverend Hound.