by Justin Gaines
– Senior Columnist —
If the so-called New Wave of Traditional Metal is a real movement, it’s definitely a global one. Hailing from Australia, traditional heavy metal band Johnny Touch delivered their full-length debut Inner City Wolves earlier this year. It’s out on the Shadow Kingdom label, who like Pure Steel and Cruz Del Sur, has been delivering a lot of great new traditional metal bands in recent years.
You can’t always judge a book (or an album in this case) by its cover, but when you see an image of a gun-toting Mad Max-looking chick riding a giant wolf through a post-apocalyptic cityscape, you can safely assume you’re in for some classic heavy metal. Johnny Touch clearly takes their cues from Judas Priest, Riot and the NWOBHM scene, with blazing guitars (and some wicked shredding), driving rhythms, and lyrics focusing on battle, dark ladies and glorious metal. The vocals aren’t super-high, and they have some real power.
Inner City Wolves is really fun stuff. It’s not terribly original. It’s not terribly complicated. But that’s pretty much the point. You listen to a band like Johnny Touch when you’re tired of endless sub-genres and pretentious concept albums and just want to rock out for 40 minutes or so. And blasting songs like “The Metal Embrace,” “Dishonourable Discharge” and the epic “Black Company” definitely gets the job done. And fans of Yngwie Malmsteen-style shred heroics are going to love “Radiation Axeposure.” The album loses something in either the production or the mastering, as it requires more volume than most new releases, but that’s a minor gripe.
If you’re following this new breed of old school metal bands – particularly bands like Skull Fist, Cauldron, Night Demon, Volture and the like – then you’ll definitely want to check out Johnny Touch. Inner City Wolves is a very solid, totally enjoyable debut from a welcome addition to the global traditional heavy metal scene.
Genre: Heavy Metal, Traditional Metal
Lineup:
Inphiltrator (b)
Denimal (d)
Jamie Whyte (g)
Pahl Hodgson (v)
Track Listing:
1. It’s Alright
2. The Metal Embrace
3. Lady Stutter
4. Radiation Axeposure
5. Dishonourable Discharge
6. End of Daze
7. Bitch of a Son
8. Black Company
Label: Shadow Kingdom
Website: www.facebook.com/JohnnyTouchAus
Hardrock Haven Rating: 7.5/10
