IRON JAWS
“Declaration Of War”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

10/10

Iron Jaws are a speed metal band from Italy formed in 2006, releasing their debut album ‘Louder Is Not Enough’ in 2010. The bands sophomore album ‘Guilty Of Ignorance’ was released in 2013, with third album ‘Declaration Of War’, a 2021 release.

If you’ve never heard of Italian speed metallers Iron Jaws – just imagine what the offspring from an Overkill/Exciter tryst would sound like! Then add more speed, more aggression, and even more in your face attitude – and you’d be somewhere near the sound of Iron Jaws. For the band are a blistering, Earth scorching, planet destroying metal monster of mass destruction. The bands third album is fifty ferocious minutes of unrelenting, unforgiving, and unabashed speed come thrash metal. And with twelve songs on offer, ‘Declaration Of War’ is a high octane “can’t stop listening”, “can’t put down”, adrenaline rush, all shuddering to life with ‘Satan’s Bride’ – an immediate in your face cacophony of speedy thrash metal. Aggressive vocals accompany the rough and tough nature of ‘Satan’s Bride’, with the weak diving for cover! But for the strong, we stand tall and scream “is that all you’ve got”. And the resounding no from Iron Jaws is the blistering ‘Speed Metal Commando’ – four ferocious minutes of high velocity, err, speed metal! The opening double from these Italian metallers is phenomenal, an immense and bold statement of intent.

Hailing from a country whose biggest musical export is opera, Iron Jaws come at you from totally the opposite end of the scale – literally the farthest point away from opera you could get! The ferocious pounding continues with ‘The Brawl’ – and if this was a soundtrack to a bar brawl, I for one would not wanna be there. It would be vicious beyond belief! And I reckon you’d need an iron jaw to withstand the barrage of savagery dished out… With unrelenting pace and power, ‘The Hell Of Boiling Metal (Big Trouble In Chinatown)’ screams past at lightning speed, the attitude and aggression as high as it’s been since the album began. The title song ‘Declaration Of War’ is a sub three minute scorcher with absolutely no sign of the (albums) blistering pace slowing down. ‘Declaration Of War’ (the song and the album) is ferocity unleashed, ears are gonna bleed, bones are gonna be broken, and skulls are gonna be crushed!

Continuing what has now become a tradition, Iron Jaws include a cover song on this album. The bands first two albums contained cover songs – namely ‘Violence & Force’ by Exciter (taken from the bands ’84 album ‘Violence & Force’), and ‘Metal Merchants’ by Hallow’s Eve (from the bands ’85 debut album ‘Tales Of Terror’). For this outing, Iron Jaws cover ‘Ton Of Bricks’ by Metal Church (taken from the bands ’86 album ‘The Dark’). Iron Jaws have sped it up a little, injected more beef, more oomph, and more aggression – and it fits nicely with the albums overall sound. With a guitar tone the nearest to traditional metal Iron Jaws get, ‘Evil Bringer’ slams the brakes on the (albums) blistering pace – for one minute and ten seconds! ‘Evil Bringer’ then ups the ante and roars off at speed, but keeps the traditional metal influence. Take this rare moment for a breather, it’s very unlikely you’ll get another ’til the album ends!

After the border bending ‘Evil Bringer’, Iron Jaws return to their lightning quick roots, with the super charged ‘Idiots’ Prophet’. A thundering huff and puff, ‘Idiots’ Prophet’ blends in a brutal savagery not heard before on the album. With a scowling vocal delivery, ‘Grandier’s Damnation’ comes across as a gruff growler, sending shivers of terror down the spines of the faint hearted. The sheer terror emitted from ‘Grandier’s Damnation’ is the stuff of horror movies, scaring cinema goers with unrelenting menace.

The exquisitely titled ‘B.M.W. (Black Metal Wheels)’ veers once more to the border of traditional heavy metal, not dropping the blistering pace for a single moment. And the chant style chorus is likely to be screeched by everyone. Racing back to the speed metal genre, ‘Back On The Hunt’ steps on the accelerator, steaming forth with purpose and intent. And as we near the final song, just where has the last forty minutes gone! Seems like only a moment ago when ‘Satan’s Bride’ shuddered the album into life… ‘Horns Up For Metal’ brings the album to a close in a fantastically anthemic way. At over six minutes in length, ‘Horns Up For Metal’ is by far and away the longest song on offer, and is gonna appeal to fans of the epic, glory, and anthemic styles of metal. Catchy, infectious, and lyrically superb, Iron Jaws have in their hands a new anthem for heavy metal – all together now “horns up for metal”.

Overall, a scorching cacophony of speedy thrash metal, delivered with aggression, attitude, and a ton of electrically charged energy.

TRACKLIST

Satan’s Bride
Speed Metal Commando
The Brawl
The Hell Of Boiling Metal (Big Trouble In Chinatown)
Declaration Of War
Ton Of Bricks
Evil Bringer
Idiot’s Prophet
Grandier’s Damnation
B.M.W. (Black Metal Wheels)
Back On The Hunt
Horns Up For Metal

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