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Finland's Mad Hatter's Den play a style of Traditional Metal that emulates the NWOBHM in much the same way that countrymen Machine Men did, perhaps with a little less outright Iron Maiden worship. Twin guitars drive the songs but Mad Hatter's Den also gives a nod to 70s Hard Rock by incorporating the Hammond organ into their sound. Unlike the keyboards you hear in today's Power Metal, the Hammond adds an extra layer of heaviness to the songs. Dark Wheel occasionally reminds me of Deep Purple or Uriah Heep. Not that Mad Hatter's Den is on a level with those bands, by any stretch. The songs on Dark Wheel (4 originals plus a "radio edit" of the title track) are decent but obviously the product of a young band. I hear loads of energy in "The Dark Wheel" and "Shadow Lord" but also some clunky song structures and occasional flat singing on "Drain the Fountain."

Some people will just hear an Iron Maiden clone. I hear a young band with promise, one which could challenge the Enforcers and Katanas of the world. They will need some better songs, to be sure, but the potential is there among the 70's Hard Rock and NWOBHM. Mad Hatter's Den is a band I will be watching.