Year: 2025
Label: Rebellion Records/Cosmic Key Creations
Metal and punk have never had a harmonious coexistence, though they have always cross-pollinated each other. Metalheads have sneered at the crudeness and perceived lack of musicianship in punk, and conversely punks have mocked the instrument-wankery of metal. Ideology, in one form of another, has always been a point of contention. Punk and metal have often been at odds.
And just as often, punk and metal have fruitfully merged together. UK82 wouldn’t have been the same without punks injecting metal into the sound. NWOBHM wouldn’t have been the same without metalheads injecting punk into the sound. Grindcore certainly took influence from nascent death metal, which in turn took inspiration from early crust. And so on.
Perhaps, in some ways, this alliance has been made stronger just because there is always some degree of friction.
Before we get too philosophical, let’s delve into the subject of today’s review. Australian Storm Of Steel are a newcomer band with members from both metal and punk backgrounds. This is the group’s first release, and if there’s even been a band that stood more firmly in the middle of the punk/metal divide, then I don’t know what that is.
In effect, you can approach Storm Of Steel from either direction. From a metal point of view, they lace their classic metal sound with copious amounts of hard-as-nails punk, hardcore and oi!. From a punk perspective, the Australians’ hardcore oi! sound is complemented by heavy metal riffage. This is such a seamless amalgam that both approaches are equally justified.
With this background, it makes a lot of sense that Rebellion Records/Cosmic Key Creations – both labels run by Wouter of Live By The Sword and Heathen Peace – snapped up the group. In recent years, perhaps with the legacy of Battle Ruins starting to make itself known, oi! has more and more dipped into metal territory both aesthetically and musically. Wouter has, with aforementioned acts, taken a prominent role in this development, moving more and more into metal territory musically without forsaking the quintessential attitude of oi!. Storm Of Steel obviously have a very similar musical mindset.
Taking the band name from Ernst Jünger’s legendary, autobiographical World War I novel, this self-titled mini-album is appropriately steeped in WWI imagery. It even kicks off with a whistle sounding off an assault across no man’s land! Here the imagery of the two genres unite: war has always been part and parcel of metal imagery, and the warrior ethos of oi!.
To elaborate on the musical amalgam, imagine something like early metal-punk English Dogs with a dollop of Condemned 84 mixed with equal parts Venom. Luke Bennett’s vocals have that same vicious snarl as a young Cronos had. The oi! element is heard particularly in the heavy mid-tempo plod of most tracks. The title track is an excellent example of this: it could just as well be on some brickwall oi! group’s album. Then again, on a faster track like Creeping Barrage, the classic 80’s metal elements are obvious. Storm Of Steel feel equally at home with both, and meld moments leaning more towards punk quite seamlessly with sections of metal.
Storm Of Steel emerge from the fog of war quite complete. There’s no trepidation or fumbling in the musical concept or songwriting. There’s no wavering between the two poles of their sound. Instead, the Aussies sound like they’ve been at it for ages. Honestly, I can hardly believe this is their debut release.
To circle back to the musings of the beginning, oi! has in recent years been moving in a more metal direction, embodying the eternal dance of metal and punk in a phase where the two are closer. Storm Of Steel’s collective background in both hardcore and metal sees one of the most seamless amalgams of this development to date. And best of all, not only is this an aesthetically mature package, it musically also kicks ass. These guys know what they are doing.
So, regardless of whether you’re into punk, oi!, hardcore or metal, this is something for you.
Only Death Is Real 