Steel - "Heavy Metal Machine"

Given that my metal fandom began with Opeth (not counting the inevitable Metallica phase), it was essential for me to at least check out this release, which features multiple Opeth members as well as the acclaimed Dan Swano on vocals. The music here is an enthusiastic tribute to '70s heavy metal and '80s power metal with an attitude reminiscent of Judas Priest, Accept, and the like.

At first listen, the music here is enjoyable to the average metal fan, with catchy hooks and the beloved heavy metal attitude defining the sound. However, while I would still consider the music enjoyable, it is ultimately lacking as one might expect from a tribute band with no personal vision. Steel's demo is found lacking specifically because it is essentially the opposite of famed heavy metal releases like Awaken The Guardian, Sad Wings Of Destiny, or King Of The Dead; the riff structures, despite producing genuinely catchy riffs, are as basic and mundane as possible as if written and recorded in a few short minutes, and each song is essentially structured like a hit single with no depth of songwriting. Additionally, Dan Swano's status as easily the most overrated metal vocalist of all time is detrimental to the demo - Swano was average at best in Edge of Sanity, Nightingale, and other projects, and his attempts here at power metal wails recall none of the glory of John Arch or Harry Conklin.

Ultimately, Heavy Metal Machine is a subconscious attempt to appeal to the metal mainstream as all of its quality is expressed upfront in simplistic catchy riffs and stripped-down song structures; it fails to further reward listeners with consecutive listens as albums of the highest quality do.