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Welcome To The Row

    
       
       
       
     
             
Street Lethal are a heavy metal band from Spain formed in 2014, with their debut release, 2014's 'Chainbreaker' E.P. A live album 'Live From The Street' emerged in 2015, with a second E.P. 'Look Out! And Stay In The Streets' in 2017. Undergoing a couple of line-up changes, the band recorded their first full length studio album in 2019, and released 'Welcome To The Row' at the end of the year.    
             
Six songs across thirty minutes, and the debut full length offering from Spanish metallers Street Lethal is more like a mini album - but there is nothing mini about the bands sound. Heavy hitting, traditional heavy metal greets the listener as the album gets underway with the title song 'Welcome To The Row'. Guitars screech and drums thunder as 'Welcome To The Row' ploughs a deep furrow, paying homage to the classic sound of British heavy metal. The intensity increases in line with the heaviness, as 'Roll Racing' takes flight, adopting a melodic edge across the chorus break.    
             
Chugging into life 'Searching The Wild' takes on the mantle of early eighties NWOBHM with bands such as Angel Witch and Raven as inspiration. The pulsating riff is catchy, as 'Searching The Wild' cracks on, "foot on the monitor" style at a high tempo. At over seven minutes in length 'Rulers Of The Underground' is by far and away the longest song on offer, and opens in mellow style, depicting a ballad feel. Soulful vocals kick in, making you reach for your lighters but you hold off as the song gets progressively heavier, and eventually put them away. 'Rulers Of The Underground' finally makes its true identity known, as an anthemic mid tempo foot stomp.    
             
Whoa... Blistering pace lights up the album as 'Tyrants' rockets out of the blocks and flies on at high velocity. Fast and furious 'Tyrants' takes on the mantle of speed metal, as it savagely punches and kicks its way through the airways. A glorious, galloping gourmet of head bangingly fast heavy metal, 'Tyrants' is exhilarating. Bringing the album to a close is the fast faced, heavy, yet melodic 'Into Your Mind'. Another galloping "foot on the monitor" romp, 'Into Your Mind' is a cracking final flourish to a cracking (mini) album.    
             
Overall, a glorious mini album making a maxi impact, 'Welcome To The Row' is a galloping journey of NWOBHM inspired heavy metal.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Fighter Records    
             
             
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