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Almost three years have passed since Cleveland's Heavy Metal warriors independently released their debut album Out of the Rust and Ruin. These fellows impressed me quite a bit on that record with their tasteful mix of US-styled Power and Heavy Metal.

Into the Fray is the band's follow up and it continues in the footsteps of their promising debut. It is a step forward in song writing and the band expands their music into new territories such as Punk Rock. Yes, you read that right. "Travisty" is as Punk as it gets and I can imagine it becoming one of those songs they save for the last when playing live just to wind up the audience before turning them loose on the world. Deadiron's main focus is still on churning out a melodious mix of Power and Heavy Metal that has traces of Maiden, Iced Earth, Sentenced and others whose names escape me. Alexander van Ness seems to have more of a Rock singer tone in his voice than ever before which can lead to either good or bad things, depending on which markets are their main target.

The playing is sharper, more varied and more focused this time around compared to the debut album and it's great to notice how truly at home they are with the epic melodies on Into the Fray. "Laurelen" is a good example as it is catchy and melancholy as fuck. The same applies the title track, which offers a good amount of pure enjoyment in the form of great melodies, and Alexander's vocals earn extra horns-ups in my opinion.

Deadiron have the potential to break out of their home territory with this second album.