Road Warrior Power

Standing tall and firm, chests puffed out, leather-clad women at their side, songs of machismo and bravado at their disposal, all the while surveying the perilous field that is the global heavy metal scene is South Australia's Road Warrior. Their name, not surprisingly, was inspired by the popular Mad Max 2 movie (alternatively titled as The Road Warrior) that featured a young Mel Gibson portraying a hardened but humane Main Force Patrol officer who tries to uphold the law in dystopic Australia. Road Warrior soon caught the eye of Gates Of Hell Records after the release of their 2016 Ignition demo, prompting the two parties to put pen to paper for the release of the band's first-ever full-length album. Featuring bassist/vocalist Denimal Blake, guitarist Overdryve and drummer Villon, Road Warrior was created out of necessity by Blake, a man who would be the first to tell you, Heavy metal is in my blood and cannot be denied. Blake, who is also known for his work in black/death metallers Cauldron Black Ram and avant-garde outfit StarGazer, has quenched his thirst for classic heavy metal in Road Warrior, compiling eight muscular, taut, mid-tempo numbers on Power. The album -- recorded at Against the Grain Studios in Adelaide, South Australia with Andy Kite at the helm -- works in songs that are that are perfunctory and without filler, recalling the steely anthems of METAL CHURCH, BLACKKOUT, early IRON MAIDEN, SAVATAGE, JUDAS PRIEST, LOUDNESS, RIOT, TWISTED SISTER and HEXX. Blake and his Road Warrior bandmates find no topic to be taboo, reveling in lyrical topics that detail sex, historical conspiracy, pre-diluvial civilization and for extra measure, hotter sex. Citing maximal testosterone as the ultimate separator between themselves and the traditional heavy metal pack, Road Warrior are an unabashed throwback to a time when metal skirted conventional and politically correct norms. The title of Power says it all -- this is Road Warrior's statement of intent.