Death Dealer – War Master.

Ross The Boss (Ross Friedman) will be known to many for being one of the founder members of Manowar until 1988 but before that played with legendary New York punk band The Dictators  and French punk band Shakin Street. His Ross The Boss solo band released 2 albums in 2008 and 2010. So now to the present day that finds Ross playing with Death Dealer who he joined in early 2012 and they have released their colossal debut album War Master via Pure Steel Records. It could possibly not be any more metal than it already is and when I  played it I got the feeling you get when you hear your favourite album for the very first time. The band are at the top of their game featuring the  stunning vocals of Sean Peck who has to be heard to be believed which are heard within seconds of opening number ‘Death Dealer’. His opening scream over a clatter of drums and barrage of riffs could shatter glass and is definitely up there with Rob Halford and Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens with his pitching. The guitars slash away throughout the song as the drumming gets heavier and Sean’s screams of “Death Dealer” have countless r’s at the end of them! There is no let up as following track ‘Never To Kneel’ hits hard. A swords in the air power metal classic and can be described by a tshirt I used to have with the words ‘Riff after riff after motherfu**ing riff’ on the back of it.

The title track is a breathtaking breakneck adrenaline rush of manic riffing and more furious drum footwork topped off by banshee vocals and when the guitar solos arrive it’s air guitar heaven. ‘Children Of Flames’ could be classed as a power ballad but is heavy enough to still crush. The vocals on the quiet segments bring to mind classic Mercyful Fate. The pummeling grooves of ‘Curse Of The Heretic’ lock in immediately providing a musical backbone for Sean to unleash another vocal masterclass. The title of ‘Hammer Down perfectly describes the pound of the drums as they compete with the scything guitar riffs. The slower vocal delivery here will get Geoff Tate looking over his shoulder. ‘The Devil’s Mile’ is just over 6 minutes of guitar overload with riffs, fills and solos battling against apocalyptic drumming.

The opening flourish of guitars for ‘Liberty Or Death’ lead into a huge marching style riff over multitracked vocals which head off the scale into the stratosphere. ‘Heads Spike Walls’ is a strong contender for song of the album as the ballistic pneumatic rhythms induce some serious headbanging. My personal favourite of the album is closing song ‘Wraiths On The Wind’. It’s the second song on the album that takes it’s foot off the pedal as the laid back grinding riffs back up another phenomenal vocal.

War Master is looking to be my album of 2014 without a doubt!

Death Dealer band line up :-

Sean Peck – Vocals.

Stu Marshall – Guitar.

Ross The Boss – Guitar.

Steve Bolognese – Drums.

Mike Davis – Bass guitar.

Album track listing :-

Death Dealer.

Never To Kneel.

Warmaster.

Children Of Flames.

Curse Of The Heretic.

Hammer Down.

The Devil’s Mile.

Liberty Or Death.

Heads Spikes Walls.

Wraiths On The Winds.