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IGNITOR
Horns And Hammers
Metal On Metal Records/Revolt Records/Metal World Records

I count myself as an unabashed fanboy of the NWoBHM. I've been to festivals (BroFest, MearFest) in England and have a pretty substantial collection of Vinyl. But I also have many friends from bands here in The Lone Star State. So sometimes I gotta' kick myself in my own ass for not promoting and fawning over the brilliant bands that call Texas home. And I don't know why that is. There is some of the most iconic and revered bands in Texas that the world knows and worships, like Austin's MILITIA and WATCHTOWER, Houston's HELSTAR and BAD HEAVEN, Corpus Christi's DEVASTATION and FINAL ASSAULT, and Dallas/Ft. Worth's SOLITUDE AETURNUS and ASKA, just to name a few that popped off the top of my pickled brain. But there's not just the Legends that call Texas home, there's a new regiment of bands that are flying the flag for Texas Metal with a no quarter asked, none given mentality, like Houston's THE SCOURGE, Austin's THE SWORD and another Austin band IGNITOR. I say new, but IGNITOR actually formed in 2003, so forgive my kinda late to the party stupidity.

IGNITOR was formed by Stuart 'Batlord' Laurence (Guitar), who also was a member of Austin cult band AGONY COLUMN, who had several releases in the late 80's & early 90's. Batlord is joined these days by fellow AGONY COLUMN-er Billy 'Chainsaw' Dansfiell (Bass), Robert Williams (TEXAS METAL OUTLAWS) on guitar, Pat Doyle (THE OFFENDERS) on drums, and Texas Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member Jason McMaster (BROKEN TEETH, WATCHTOWER, DANGEROUS TOYS) on vocals. If you've followed IGNITOR since inception, you'll know that the original incarnation was led by Erika Tandy on vocals for the first 2 albums, with Jason taking over on the third release, The Spider Queen. If you've somehow slept on IGNITOR and are wondering what they're all about, they play an uptempo Power Metal style of music. To lend you some guidance, IGNITOR released an unreal CD back in 2013 where they put their roots firmly on display for all to see and bang to. Mixtape '85 was its name, and it featured covers of some of the bands that forged the path that they still follow today. VENOM, MERCYFUL FATE, EXCITER, EXODUS, ACCEPT and Fistfull of Metal-era ANTHRAX were some of the influences that they covered. That should give you plenty of ideas as to where these Texan metallers are coming from.

The new opus is Horns And Hammers and is a beast of an album! Clocking in at under an hour, there's actually going to be 2 different versions out there. Let me take a bit of the confusion out of it for you though. Because the U.S. label (Metal On Metal Records) doesn't like cover tunes, there's a blistering live version of "Hell Shall Be Your Home" recorded in 2019 in Austin on the U.S. version. But if you're like me and LOVE covers, instead of the live track, the European version has a crushing cover of the legendary NWoBHM kings SAXON, and their track "Machine Gun", off the seminal album Wheels Of Steel. The IGNITOR version even boasts a couple of guest stars, that being Marc Lopes, singer of METAL CHURCH, who early Halford-esque screams will give you chills, and the axe slinger Ross 'the Boss' Friedman, he of MANOWAR fame and now playing with DEATH DEALER, and his own namesake band, ROSS THE BOSS. And if you'd love to see and hear this track for yourself, check it out on KNAC.COM HERE as it's been released as a taster for the album.

The album as a whole is a true banger from start to finish. The production, handled by Stuart is clean and crisp, with outstanding separation letting you hear the twin guitars of Batlord and Robert. Pat's drum sound is exceptional, as is the bottom end of Billy. And the vocals of Jasonic should impress to no end. Reminding one of early MERCYFUL FATE-era King Diamond, with a little Painkiller Rob Halford from JUDAS PRIEST thrown in for good measure, and Biff from SAXON too. Jason is a chameleon whose voice can literally do anything that you can think of, in any genre of hard rock or metal you can come up with. Favorite cuts are the aforementioned "Machine Gun", the fist-pounding "Shattered Crosses", the speed metal riffing of the title track "Horns And Hammers", the bass guitar driven "Ferocious the Martyrs", featuring Gilbert Guardian on keyboards from fellow Texan band IMMORTAL GUARDIAN, giving the song a killer 70's URIAH HEEP vibe, the galloping "Suicide Anthem", "Dark Horse", which starts with some full-on doom that would make CANDLEMASS proud, before kicking into a ferocious thrasher, sure to leave necks aching. Hell, the whole album is a 'trove' Metalhead's wet dream! The songs themselves have twists and tempo changes aplenty, showcasing their songwriting prowess. In fact, Horns And Hammers shall surely make it into my 2024's Top 10. It's that impressive.

So I implore my Metal brothers and sisters who have yet to discover IGNITOR, now's your chance to right that horrid wrong and pick up this crushing album. They won't mind if you're a little late to the party. As the old saying goes, "better late than never". And if you're already on the IGNITOR train, buckle up partner. This ride's comin' in hot!

And yes, Wax Maniacs, there WILL be Vinyl for this bludgeoning slab of Metal! Coming out sometime in 2025 I believe. Stay on the IGNITOR FB page, or hit up KNAC.COM. When the word comes down from the mountaintop, we'll be sure to let you know.

4.8 Out Of 5 skulls☠️☠️☠️☠️