The Sacred Steel armada had put their guns away for some time now. Three years after the controversial “Hammer Of Destruction”, the Germans return with a brand new album, violently titled “Carnage Victory” and while it is quite doubtful if they can attract new friends, the old ones will gather around cheerfully, especially the ones that where happy with the period between “Spaughter Prophecy” (2002) and after.

This time frame is far from accidental, since during the early years of the running decade, Gerrit Mutz’s gang (prominent member of tragedy Divine, Dawn of Winter), decided to combine the harsh and fast heavy/battle metal with forms adjacent to a more extreme style (growlings, super fast riffs etc.) disappointing some of the die hard traditional fans while targeting to a younger audience. Whatever the case, Sacred Steel where never the classic commercial band that would invest in easy structured and easy listening forms, so their motive explanation is of little consequence in year 2009.

In “Carnage Victory” what we meet, is a big chunk out of the compositional identity of the German metallers with distinguishing point, the prominent and unique voice of Mr. Mutz. A voice so distinctive that most love to hate, however a trademark to the band (see Manilla Road) and a big preference for the writer. Aggressive, with a covered melancholy and a doom ambience, Gerrit’s voice look a little more mature, however a little more tired. Maybe one follows the other, who knows? It should be noted that there are no extremities of any kind, and definitely not in any of the vocal arrangements, to be found in this album. Henceforth, the music holds no surprises to the old fans. Pressing and battle frenzied heavy metal, attached to the 80s American scene (Omen, Attacker, Liege Lord), with fast guitars, a variety of drums, melodic yet archetypal solos and relevantly complicated bass lines. There is not a specific song to stand out, since all of them are faithful to the traditional Sacred Steel style, while narrative parts can be found in specific parts. (in “Broken Rites” you can even find an intermezzo narrated in Greek!).

The new Sacred Steel album has nothing to add and takes nothing out of the twelve-year-old band’s history, in my opinion. Some acoustic guitars, the (slight) adjustment of the vocals through the course of time and a slightly more intense flirting with classic metal is what is a generic reference point compared to other works by this German quintet. I would not recommend this album as the distinctive, trademark sound of the band for someone that starts now, but I would never discard it. It is good that Sacred Steel keep doing records, since they keep their own style and they do not hit the trap of the sound-like-this-too sound aiming to show themselves off. For this reason and only, supporting “Carnage Victory” is advised if you consider yourself a friend and ally. In any case, musically, you will not be disappointed.