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Road To Victory

      
         
         
         
     
             
Black Knight are a heavy metal band from the Netherlands, forming in 1981, releasing a couple of demo's - 'Demo 1' (1982) and 'Excavated' (1992) - and their debut album 'Tales From The Darkside' in 2000. The bands sophomore album 'The Beast Inside', emerged in 2007. With drummer Rudy Plooy the only remaining original member, Black Knight are back with their third album 'Road To Victory'.    
             
Released in 2020, 'Road To Victory' is a furious furore of heavy metal. Twin guitars and soaring vocals keeping the classic sound of eighties heavy metal well and truly alive, Black Knight launch their new album with the fast paced (title song) 'Road To Victory'. Steaming forward like a freight train, 'Road To Victory' (the song) is quickly into its stride, galloping forth like the traditional metal gem it is. Yes, gem - 'Road To Victory' (the song) is unadulterated and unashamedly pure heavy metal. What an opening salvo...     
             
...and there's plenty more fireworks to come, as the album cracks on with 'Legend', a more mid tempo and melodic offering than the albums opener. The mid paced melodic march of 'Legend' is so majestic and regal, the riffery big and bombastic, and Black Knight are showing their true colours, as those of a heavy metal band. With its old school feel and NWOBHM sounding guitars, 'Pendragon' is gonna be lapped up by traditional metal fans everywhere. The mid to high tempo and highly energetic gallop of 'Pendragon' is a must for raising your fists high in the air. And after just three songs, Black Knight are firing on all cylinders, blasting traditional heavy metal high into the stratosphere. With only eight songs on offer, Black Knight have to make a big impression, and make it quick - and I believe they have done just that. The albums opening three songs have all been barnstormers - with fourth song 'Thousand Faces', a much more mid paced and anthemic march. The heaviness remains but all pace is taken back a few notches - think British stalwarts and NWOBHM pioneers Saxon, and you'll have some idea of how 'Thousand Faces' sounds.    
             
With an upsurge in intensity, Black Knight steam roll on with the heavy hitting 'My Beautiful Daughters'. Taking a swing into the hard rock genre, 'My Beautiful Daughters' is a big riffing slab of metal and rock, appealing equally to fans of both styles of music. What a high impact album this is! Black Knight are not just going through the paces - they are delivering the goods, and by crikey they are top quality. At over seven minutes in length, 'Crossing The Rubicon' is the longest song on offer, proceeding to take the listener on a journey through the epic style of metal, similar to the epics that British legends Iron Maiden are well known for. 'Crossing The Rubicon' is a cinematic, surround sound edge of your seat listen. And what would you expect from a song that's titled 'Primal Power'... Punchy! Fast paced! Hard rocking! You'd be right on all counts, for 'Primal Power' is a blistering gallop of "foot on the monitor" heavy metal with a big infusion of power metal. A crossover of two of the three biggest genres on the planet (the other being thrash) 'Primal Power' is by far and away the best song on offer. And oh my God - the final hurrah of the album is the blazing 'The One To Blame'. Straight out of the eighties play book, 'The One To Blame' smells of the eighties, looks like the eighties and goddamn well sounds like the eighties. Black Knight have done an excellent job of delivering an old school flavour that is gonna appeal to metal fans all around the world.    
             
Overall, an addictive charge through heavy metal land, Black Knight deliver an awesome blend of traditional heavy metal and power metal.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Pure Steel Records    
             
             
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