Ignitor vocalist Jason McMaster is Texan metal royalty. The Corpus Christi native’s name might not roll off the non-Texan tongue as readily as those of the brothers Abbott, but his commitment to metal and his achievements within the genre are legendary just the same down here, and t’s great to see him back in 2020 with Ignitor for another round of pure heavy metal mayhem!

He sounds great too on songs like the doom title track or the more straightforward Maiden-styled romp Hell Shall Be Your Home. At fifty five you might expect him to be a little ragged around the edges after a lifetime of screaming for vengeance, but at no point on this album will the listener find themselves regretting McMaster’s decision to take up the mic for this album. Like the genre he’s devoted his career to, the man is simply unstoppable!

Of course, Ignitor is a band so it’s not just all about the singer… guitarists Stuart Laurence  (the artist formerly known as Batlord) and Robert Williams acquit themselves well throughout – the guitar work on Tonight We Ride is particularly noteworthy, however – and if the engine room of Billy Dansfiell and Pat Doyle aren’t the most showy bottom end pairing doing the rounds, then they certainly lay down the rhythmic punch with a minimum of fuss but maximum effect. They do come to the fore in the mix occasionally, however, and on Steel Flesh Bone especially you can hear them going about their business with heavy intent…

If you consider yourself a fan of all things progressive in the metal world then there’s probably precious little here that might appeal, save for the slightly more complex feel of closing track Stoned At The Acropolis; but if straightahead, rock n’roll tinged metal is what you crave, old school to the circuit-gleaming core, then this album is most certainly in your wheelhouse.

The Golden Age of Black Magick is out now…