Am I qualified to talk about music? Probably not, I haven’t read a lick of sheet music since I was in High School; the last instrument I played was for my Junior High String’s band.
That said, I know what I like and I have a deep appreciation for music. It has always been a part of my life, from blasting Alan Jackson and Toby Kieth from the speakers of my Dad’s truck while camping, to sifting through my mom’s collection of rock albums, to my adulthood obsession with collecting every David Bowie CD—my tastes are wide and discerning and I am always hungry to discover new bands.
Last year I decided I wanted to get into heavy metal. That means I sat down and listened to band after band, pushing the YouTube algorithm to its limit in a desperate search for something I could really fall in love with.
Heavy metal is a vast genre, composing so many different quirks and subgenres. I found that I like melody and vastness of sound, epic topics, harmonic singing—what I believe is sometimes called power metal.
Naturally, I was intrigued when IronAge Media announced an album.
First Strike is probably best described as a compilation album with the talents of Jacob Calta (YouTube/Twitter), Evaleigh (YouTube/Bandcamp), Chillkid (YouTube/Soundcloud), J.V.P. (YouTube/Twitter), and A.C. Pritchard (YouTube/Substack) with Jacob Calta as Producer, Mastering completed by Calta and J.V.P., with Executive Producer, Richard Wilson.
(Disclaimer: I’ve worked with IronAge Media in the past. Whether that makes me biased or not is up to you.)
First things first
I prefer physical media so I tend to buy CDs instead of downloading them as a rule. It may seem silly to discuss a jewel case, but I collect music albums. It’s important to me that the case work as intended and look cool.
The CD case is smooth cardboard with plastic insert, it includes a song booklet. It’s quality, especially considering the downward spiral most jewel cases have had in the past few years. Is it going to get beat up in the console of my car, are the edges going to get frayed? Yes. But it will hold the CD and the booklet
The album art is pretty slick. I like simplicity in an album cover, especially in something that suggests a wide variety of styles. Also, the symbol of a hydra can’t be overstated—I’m pretty positive that Jacob Calta, the art designer, chose that symbol on purpose. A good choice considering the stated goals of IronAge Media and the Iron Age at large.
The music
Is First Strike a metal album? Yes. But like I said above, it’s a compilation of talents. There is heavy, pulsing guitar, melodic synth, scream vocals, and most importantly sick guitar solos. Everyone involved has brought their A game.
There are only six songs on the album, so let’s go through them one by one.
Track 1 – First Strike – Jacob Calta
Track 1 is an instrumental. I found it surprisingly jazzy, with shades of the classic Sonic soundtrack—sort of etheral late 80s, early 90s synth—if that makes sense. There’s a head bobbing urgency to it and a warmth of tone that feels like a classic cape-crusader training montage.
I’ve been getting into synth lately and one of the problems with synth is that, after a while, some of it really starts to sound the same. Juxtaposing a heavy synth instrumental next to a more guitar-heavy rock song is a good call.
This is a great track to start the album off with.
Track 2 – Power – Evaleigh
Does the Iron Age have an anthem? If not, I nominate Power.
If this song is supposed to be about the little guy, the small-time indie artist, taking on the big corporate music industry, then he’s nailed it. David v. Goliath is a universal tale that is applicable to all kinds of situations, not just the Iron Age.
“God only knows what I’m doing here tonight” is the kind of lyric I can appreciate. I know that feeling. I still feel it, especially when I burn midnight oil on a Sunday night, hammering out a crappy first draft wondering if anyone will even read what I’ve written or if I’m just wasting time.
The song goes on to suggest that I am not wasting my time, and neither is Evaleigh.
Fantastic little anthem. I love it.
Tack 3 – the Anvil – Chillkid
I’ve really come to appreciate chillwave synth. Track 3 is very chill, but not a calm chill, an intense chill.
The lyrics are about being “born in fire” and “shaped on the anvil.” I find the irony of a chillwave song about forging by fire and anvil to be deliciously clever. It also has this really cool call-and-response to the lyrics that makes it feel more like a war chant than a typical song.
I think this is a song that grows on you.
Track 4 – the Wraithsayer – J.V.P.
This instrumental is probably my favorite track. It features a wide variety of synthetic instruments: strings, horns, even an organ, ghost-like chanting. It makes the song feel expansive, like a guitar player with the backing of an orchestra.
The use of organ and bells lends a Victorian eeriness that builds into something epic and heroic. This is the song of a English gentlemen plucking up his courage and taking on the thing that haunts the graveyard.
Weird horror in song. Absolutely love it.
Track 5 – Villainous Wake – A.C. Pritchard
There is not accounting for taste. Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of screaming, gruff, vocals a la Slipknot. That doesn’t mean there aren’t things to like in this song—there are.
The discordant sounding chorus is a very cool effect that matches the lyrics. “I’d rather fly free, than die as a slave. I’ll break from my cage, I’ll rise from the flames. My words are my wings, my shield, my blade, my pleasure, your pain, my villainous wake.” Pritchard casts himself as the villain, and maybe he is? But doesn’t the POV matter?
Not a fan of screamo, but the lyrics are fantastic and J.V.P.’s guitar work is excellent.
Track 6 – Blow by Blow – Chillkid, A.C. Pritchard, Evaleigh, J.V.P., Jacob Calta
If this album has a B side, then track 6 is it. The weakest of the six tracks, I’m not sure if the problem stems from too many cooks, or if its just the principal that every album must have that one song you can’t vibe with?
Evaleigh and J.V.P.’s guitar work stands out, especially with that plucky guitar work at the 1:40 mark and the solo at the 2:30.
Final thoughts
I honestly had my concerns when I bought this album. I feared that it was going to be like those CDs you buy from the bands who play the bars in Nashville or L.A. But this is a solid album with excellent production and high-quality music.
Even in the song’s I don’t like, I can feel the passion and the care. I believe that these artist like making music and that they want me to like their music too; mutual respect is a part of the titular Iron Age. I feel like I got my money’s worth and that my time wasn’t wasted.
An excellent showing, I recommend it and leave you, appropriately, with lyrics from Track 6:
Flying free into horizons
The moon and stars all fall away
Determination, out instincts guide us
Into a whole new age.
-Blow by Blow
Don’t forget to check out Anvil Magazine #4, currently available for pre-order!
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