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I really enjoyed Holy Martyr's debut album Still At War several years ago, and so as soon as I heard they had a new album out, I got excited. Riding at the crest of the wave of True Metal emanating from Italy and Greece with the likes of Wotan, Battleroar, Icy Steel, Doomsword, and Battle Ram, Holy Martyr have cranked out a sophomore album that's a strong contender for album of the year.

Epic, masterful True Heavy Metal is what's on offer here, as Holy Martyr take several songs from their Hail To Hellas EP and rework them into a full-sized concept album about the Battle of Thermopylae, complete with quotes from 300. Now that's not exactly original, but holy shit they sure do make this into a kick-ass workout of classic metal awesome. After a symphonic intro, they charge right into the pounding "Spartan Phalanx", followed by the insanely catchy "Lakedaimon" — truth be told, there's not a bad song on here, every one is packed with killer riffs and leads, powered by the epic vocals of Alex Mereu. I always expect concept albums to bog down as they try too hard to make the music cram in the story. But this album never does that, and even the slower songs, like "Defenders In The Name Of Hellas" never get boring.

You could dock Holy Martyr some points for re-recording old songs, but when they sound this good, I am prepared to cut a band a whole lot of slack. Hellenic Warrior Spirit is a full-on, pounding epic of True Metal that no fan should miss. Essential.