BREFORTH METAL IN MY HEART

ALBUM TITLE – METAL IN MY HEART

REVIEWER – GRAEME WRIGHT

Sometimes you have to look backwards before you can move forward. I’ve noticed a trend amongst some of the Metal Music outlets where it is deemed edgy to criticise new music that has its roots in the eighties rather than being aggressive, immaculately produced-sounding modern Metal. Luckily there are still some of us old geezers around who remember the sounds that got us into this kind of stuff in the first place and can therefore give the likes of the new Breforth album a fair crack of the whip.

Jurgen Breforth founded the band Mad Max in 1982 and forty years on they are still going strong, producing records and performing live. They have, however, taken a turn towards the more melodic side of things so Jurgen decided to produce heavier music under the name of Breforth which goes firmly back to his NWOBHM/German Metal roots. So what can we expect from this album? For me, it’s in the classic eighties style of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, with a touch of Accept thrown into the mix and it’s none the worse for it. What you get here are ten immaculately played and immediate songs that never stray too far from their expected path and when combined they present us with a highly entertaining album.

Opener ‘Reset My Sanity’ gets the ball rolling and is reminiscent of Accept in their heyday. It’s a cracking start and gives you a good idea of what to expect as we move forward. A quick word on the vocals will make or break this record for most listeners. I’ve read a few comments from people who are a bit uncertain about the vocal style of Peter Lenzschau, and it did take me a couple of listens before I finally realised that his vocals are perfect for the songs on this record once they get their hooks into you. ‘Digging In The Dirt’ has a great Iron Maiden-style chorus and some tremendous solos from the twin guitarists, while ‘Dynamite’ is driven along by a pounding drum/bass attack before yielding to another huge chorus. ‘Rest In Peace’ keeps up the pace and is a big tribute to the Metal stars of the past who are no longer with us. ‘Wheel Of Fortune’ starts off in big ballad mode before building in epic style. It is perhaps the song on the album where the vocals will make it or break it for some. Me, I loved this track.

‘Danger’ is the closest thing to Iron Maiden on display in both structure and guitar work, while the title track ‘Metal In My Heart’ is truly old school both lyrically and in style and is another intense chant-along banger. ‘Social Suicide’ leans towards the sound of early Halloween while ‘Night Train To Paris’ has a big earworm chorus and has been hanging around in my brain for a few days now. The final track ‘Need More Rock N Roll’ sounds exactly as you’d expect it to and brings a highly entertaining record to a solid conclusion.

I enjoyed this record a lot and if you have a hankering for old school Heavy Metal you should give this a listen. If you get on with the vocals on display here I reckon you’ll have a ball with this album.

BAND

Peter Lenzschau – Vocals

Jurgen Breforth – Guitar

Erik Blumenthal – Guitar

Jens Lukermann – Bass

Arne Fleischhut – Drums

ALBUM TRACK LIST

1. Reset My Sanity
2. Digging In The Dirt
3. Dynamite
4. Rest In Piece
5. Wheel Of Fortune
6. Danger
7. Metal In My Heart
8. Social Suicide
9. Night train to Paris
10. Need More Rock N Roll