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Behold the greatness that is Battle Cry. It's a frustrating thing when a band releases a nearly perfect debut, and then never quite manages anything as good again, but even if Omen never became the first-rate band we all hoped, then at least they left us this one. If true Heavy Metal is your thing, then you probably already know what an awesome disc this is, but if all you know are Omen's later, lesser works, then you owe yourself this one.

Not much to say here except "RULES". Battle Cry opens up with the killer "Death Rider" and never lets up. Classics like "Dragon's Breath" and "In The Arena", and of course the title track stand out , but really there are no weak tracks on this disc at all. Yeah the album is short, but when an album is as crammed full of awesome shit as this one I do not care. Some people dismiss this great album as a ripoff of old Iron Maiden; my recommendation for a rebuttal argument is to take a big motherfucking plastic sword and shove it up their fanboy asses. Battle Cry is heavy fucking metal, plain and simple. No tricks, no bullshit, just direct, brass-knuckled riffs and unlimited attitude channeled by the late, great J. D. Kimball's rough and aggressive voice.

Even twenty-odd years after its release, Battle Cry still owns, and devotees of Battleroar, Battle Ram, and especially Ironsword should not forget where their roots sprang from. Bow down for the Axeman, bitches.