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Brazil's Hellish War is back with their third album of 80s-inspired Traditional Heavy Metal, Keep it Hellish. Like the band's previous albums, Keep it Hellish features songwriting built on the foundation laid down by Iron Maiden; lots of twin guitar work, mid-to-fast drum beats, gritty vocals and tasty solos. The band continues to polish their sound and move forward in the way they did from the debut, Defender of Metal to the follow-up, Heroes of Tomorrow. Where those albums sounded like some of the top second-tier NWOBHM bands, Keep it Hellish sounds even better. It is very consistent, though there is some repetition of choruses that shows Hellish War ran out of ideas in a couple of spots. There are no weak tracks, which is impressive considering the album has over one hour of music, but the band saved the best for last, the 9+ minute epic "The Quest." This song covers a lot of ground, from acoustic passages to crunchy riffing, and is out of the same mold as "To Tame a Land."

Hellish War has taken another step forward with Keep it Hellish. You can't really categorize them as an old-school "tribute" band anymore. They are a Traditional Metal force in their own right. While not as varied in the songwriting department (yet) as Iron Maiden or Seasons of the Wolf, fans of those bands will still find plenty to like on Keep it Hellish.