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Western Canada's Ironstorm have put out their debut EP, Wrathwind, a six-song effort full of Iron Maiden-style twin guitar melodies and Omen-like tales of battle. The vocals are a mix of clean female and harsh, Death Metal male singing. Both are fine but Karli Romyn is occasionally a bit flat or not quite on the beat and Diego Fernandez-Trujillo, who also handles guitar, doesn't sound all that different from a thousand other singers. The music is tough, muscular and grabs you by the throat but isn't catchy enough, in general, to stick around for long after Wrathwind has ended, so while the band has playing chops, the songwriting isn't at the same level. The closer, "Come Back in Glory," which was recorded live, bucks this trend a bit. Because it is live, it is rougher sounding, but when Romyn sings "come back in glory, or come back on your shield!" she really leans into it, drawing the listener in. I hope a studio version of this song shows up on a future release.

Ironstorm are a young band and it shows on Wrathwind, but there is a lot of promise on display. And let's be honest; we need more bands playing this kind of Traditional Metal. Ironstorm are a band to keep on the radar if you're a fan of early Iron Maiden, Omen, Armored Saint, etc.