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Hold High The Flame

      
         
         
         
     
             
Final Sign are a heavy/power metal band from the USA formed in 2013 by Brian "Hellstorm" Williams (ex-October 31) and Shawn Pelata (ex-Line Of Fire). The band released their debut album in 2015.    
             
The album opens with the bombastic 'Daring The Sun', all blazing guitars and thunderous drums with a vocal delivery that hints at a young Bruce Dickinson (the legendary frontman for British heavy metal icons Iron Maiden). When your guitarist has the nickname "Hellstorm" you expect excellence and that it is what you get...the solo is a blistering display of huge riffing with a touch of shred. And talking of huge riffs, 'Burn The Temple Down' opens with a magnificent riff, majestic and bold. 'Burn The Temple Down' is a mid tempo stomp, with a mild throaty growl of a vocal performance. Chugging relentlessly, your feet will be stamping and your head nodding in appreciation of such a good song.    
             
Title song 'Hold High The Flame' rockets in and is classic sounding traditional heavy metal. A galloping rhythm pushes it along at pace with a clean vocal performance and enough melody to appeal to hard rock fans too. A dream of a song for head bangers, 'Hold High The Flame' is a swashbuckling swagger of out and out heavy metal. 'Possessor' is very heavy and full of pace with a menacing vocal delivery. Guitars buzz, drums thunder and 'Possessor' chugs and chops ferociously. With so much experience across the band, you would expect a good album, but what you get here is a great album. True metal heads everywhere will lap this album up and play it over and over again.    
             
Bold and brash 'The Sinister Silence' marches in with some brutal riffing and yet another powerful mild growl of a vocal delivery. Indeed the song does sound sinister and has a menacing undertone as it thumps and thuds on its way. Every guitar solo on the album is a breath taking example of a passionate and determined musician. Pace slows as 'Scaling Lies' rolls in and majestically passes by echoing the sound that another icon of British heavy metal have made famous - Judas Priest. With a vocal performance at a higher pitch and a more melodic rhythm 'Scaling Lies' is a solid slab of hard hitting hard rock.    
             
There is an old saying "all good things come to and end", and so does this album, but not before the two best songs on offer here. 'Madness Eternal' ... what can you say? Sheer brilliance and excellence springs immediately to mind. 'Madness Eternal' has that magical x-factor, that something that makes the song addictive and memorable. A catchy sing a long chorus, a galloping rhythm, (another) blistering guitar solo and this is another dream for head bangers. And finally, there is another old saying, "save the best until last" ... 'The Ominous Black' is the fastest song on the album and plants one foot in the thrash metal genre. That said, it still has some melodic roots as it rampages on and on weaving a path of devastation through the airwaves. Brutal and aggressive 'The Ominous Black' will cause walls to crumble, pavements to crack and head banging of a violent nature.    
             
Overall, out and out traditional heavy metal with galloping rhythms and blistering guitars, this is a dream album for fans of true heavy metal.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Final Sign    
             
Review is also featured at Metal Gods TV    
             
             
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