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Hazy Hamlet is a Brazilian Heavy Metal band and this is their debut album Forging Metal.

Now when you think of Heavy/Power Metal bands that come from that country you'll think of Angra, Hibria, etc. That will give you the wrong idea as this band sounds more like Grave Digger or fellow Brazilians Dragonheart. This comes especially true because the song structure matches the latter bands and their frontman Arthur Migotto could easily be the singer of those groups. If you are a fan of those bands you'll know what to expect: catchy choruses, rough voice, strong guitar playing and steady metal.

After the mandatory intro comes "The Beginning of the End part II" and it is a good summary of what this album has to offer. From there the band keeps things moving with "Black Masquerade", "Funeral for a Viking", "Chariot of Thor" and the excellent closer "The Faces of Illusion". But not only are the songs good, so are the musicians – the guitarist provides excellent riffs and leads constantly; the bassist has a presence throughout the album and the drummer won't distract you. These elements combined with a healthy dose of catchiness and an absence of keyboards will always be a winner in my book.

Production-wise, this is an admirable job by a band that releases its music independently; you can hear every single note the way that Hazy Hamlet intended. The only legitimate negative points that this band has are the lyrics and sometimes the songwriting can get repetitive, an example of this being the title track. But those are minor complains as this isn't a technical or complicated album, and that is exactly the beauty of it as Forging Metal gets better and better each time that I listen to it. Bottom line, this is a kick ass album that is shy of greatness from a young band with a bright future ahead.