Stormwarrior - Heading Northe

Published February 01 2008

*=Staff's pick	And The Horde Calleth For Oden Heading Northe* Metal Legacy* The Holy Cross Iron Gods* Ragnarök* The Revenge Of Asa Lande Remember The Oathe* Lion Of The Northe* Into The Battle And The Valkyries Ride

Genre	Heavy Metal	Lars Ramcke	Vocals
Tracks	11	Lars Ramcke	Guitar
Runningtime	45 Min.	Alex Guth	Guitar
Label	Dockyard1	Yenz Leonhardt	Bass
Release	07 March 2008	Falko Reshöft	Drums
Country	Germany	-	Keyboard
Similar artists	Gamma Ray, Iron Savior, Helloween

Probably we have all from time to time fantasized about that perfect metal album, and wished and wondered why noone could make just that perfect music that you yourself have made up in your mind how it should sound. You know just how you want the riffs, the production, the choruses, the vocals and so on. This, my friends, is the answer to my own personal prayers. This is pure metal that touches and speaks directly to my heart. This is very, very close to be the perfect metal that I my whole life have dreamt of and been waiting to hear.

This is the missing link between the timeless and classic album Walls Of Jericho, contemporary Gamma Ray and Running Wild during the mid-90's. Heavensent harmonies and choruses with a very confident performance and a large amount of heart and soul in what they are doing. The familiar Stormwarrior style is intact but this time they have taken it to a higher level. If you liked the earlier albums, you will love this. They have taken a small step back from the extreme Walls Of Jericho-sound and have added a bit more own personality to it this time and Lars Ramcke also sings way better now. It is impossible to pick out any specific highlights as the album is top notch all along the way. When you during the course of the album think it can not get any better, they manage to top it with the next song anyway. As usual with Stormwarrior, the songs may sound very similar to each other but they all have their own distinctives. The amazing choruses are what really lift the album to the extremes.

Allow me to quote the band themselves about this album: "Much like a thunderstorm, "Heading Northe" is full of power and energy. Riffs cutting like razorblades, pushing drum and bass attacks and melodies that stay etched in your mind! With “Heading Northe” Stormwarrior stay true to their music, measuring up to the highest standards – that´s pure metal without any mediocrity!" I could not have said it better myself. Heading Northe was recorded in their own Thunderhall Studio and mixed by Piet Sielck (Iron Savior, Savage Circus) and mastered by renowned Tommy Hansen in his Jailhouse Studios in Denmark. The sound landscape is very rich, clear, spacy and powerful, and the guitar sound is just perfect for these kind of riffs and this type of metal.

If you have been longing for a really, really awesome album in this genre, look no further. Heading Northe by Stormwarrior is an album that at least in my book goes directly in as one of the very best albums ever made in the history of metal. If you are a follower of my reviews and my musical taste, you know what to expect when I am saying this.

See also review of: Thunder & Steele , Northern Rage , At Foreign Shores , Stormwarrior
See also: interview with Lars Ramcke

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
9	6,5	8,5	9	10

Summary
9,5 chalices of 10 - Tommy