AIRBORN
“LIZARD SECRETS – PART ONE”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

9/10

Airborn are a power metal band from Italy formed in 1995, releasing their debut album ‘Against The World’ in 2001 and the follow up ‘D-Generation’ in 2003. After a brief hiatus, the band returned with a new line-up in 2009, and released their third album ‘Legend Of Madog’ the same year. In 2014, fourth album ‘Dark Future Rising’ was released, and saw Airborn hit the road in support of it, opening for bands Fates Warning and Freedom Call. The following year, Airborn toured Italy with the mighty Iron Savior. In 2018, the band released the first in a trilogy of albums, ‘Lizard Secrets – Part One’.

Traditional power metal, full of energy and pulsating rhythms, is what’s on offer from Airborn with their fifth release. The atmosphere building ‘Immortal Underdogs’ builds up speed across its one minute length, giving way to the blistering speed metal romp ‘Who We Are’. Faster than a Japanese bullet train at top speed, ‘Who We Are’ is a breath taking speed metal attack, ferocious yet melodic at the same time. Get those heads banging, the next fifty minutes is gonna be something special… Title song ‘Lizard Secret’ takes on the guise of heavy melodic metal, foot stomping heavily as it proudly struts its stuff. The chorus break picks up speed and scorches the Earth as it flies by. Airborn fit perfectly into the power metal genre, snuggled between Freedom Call and Iron Savior. A more mean and moody vibe oozes from the album as ‘We Realize’ stomps in, shuddering the ground with its heaviness. Airborn don’t just deliver blisteringly fast metal, as ‘We Realize’ proves. However, it is with the faster songs that the band really excel. ‘Brace For Impact’ is an avalanche of rampant riffs and galloping rhythms, guaranteed to induce furious head banging wherever it is played.

And talking of furious head banging, ‘Wolf Child’ is so fast that you may just bang that head right off your shoulders, such is its ferocity. Wreaking a path of havoc and destruction throughout the land, ‘Wolf Child’ will only leave desolation in its wake. What a song! ‘Here Comes The Claw’ hits the brakes and slows the albums pace to a heavy mid tempo foot stomp. Bringing back the moody vibe from earlier, ‘Here Comes The Claw’ is a menacing foray of thunder. Chugging into life with the classic guitar sound of the iconic eighties NWOBHM evolution, ‘Land Of The Living’ is a hustle and bustle type of song that takes the album off in a different musical direction from what has gone before. Not a bad direction, just a different one…to the majestic, anthemic and epic style of heavy metal. ‘Meaning Of Life’ brings back the blistering power metal pace, ferociously racing along. Head banging just got furious once more. Gimme a “hell yeah”…!

If it’s anthemic heavy metal you’re looking for, then the call to arms, highly sing a long able ‘Metal Haters’ is the one for you. “long live metal” is gonna be chanted, no screamed, at the tops of fans voices the world over. Move over Manowar, here is a new heavy metal anthem… The classic sound of European power metal takes front and centre, in the formidable shape of the catchy and infectious ‘Defenders Of Planet Earth’. Sounding like a combination of power metal legends Helloween, Iron Savior and Primal Fear, ‘Defenders Of Planet Earth’ is a cracking example of how power metal should sound. With its mellow opening, I thought ‘My Country Is The World’ was gonna be a ballad, but thankfully after just one minute I was proven wrong. Phew! ‘My Country Is The World’ plants feet firmly “on the monitors” as it strides on with pace and power, delivering a head bangingly addictive finish to a highly addictive album.

Overall, an exhilarating journey through the diversity of the power metal genre, taking in the speed, anthemic and epic styles of metal.

TRACKLIST

Immortal Underdogs (Intro)
Who We Are
Lizard Secret
We Realize
Brace For Impact
Wolf Child
Here Comes The Claw
Land Of The Living
Meaning Of Life
Metal Haters
Defenders Of Planet Earth
My Country Is The World

http://www.airbornband.com/
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https://twitter.com/Airbornmetal

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