Speed Metal from Greece, based on Horror stories, guess that the name will tell you something. This is their second album, and it has a lot of energy recalling heroes of the past like HEATHEN, REALM, RIOT, AGENT STEEL and similar glories, in a time when it was Heavy Metal played at high speed with the obvious twin guitar attack that MAIDEN / PRIEST were doing the rules for. And add a vocalist that can do high pitched singing and we have a winning number. And that is what this band is doing here. Back in the ’80s the main difference between Speed Metal and Thrash Metal was that Speed was closer to traditional Heavy Metal, while Thrash was heavier and deadlier. Also the more melodic the vocals were, the more it was Speed Metal. Some bands used both types in their music. But I guess the more and more use of galloping riffs is what makes a band differ from traditional Metal. In this case the band plays Speed Metal with some Heavy Metal sounds, no they do it pretty well. At times, this sounds so ’80s that it’s scary! Their use of varios tempos and speeds gives this album and the listener more that just same sons with same speed and different riffs. Oh, and we have some very good guitar players and very nice solos here. Many Speed Metal albums have the mandatory ballad (well, some Thrash bands with Speed sounds also used them but way less). Here we have ‘Children Of The Beast’ and it shows a heavy QUEENSRYCHE sound and influence which is always something very good in my book. At the end of the day many riffs here, many vocal hooks, not many things reminded me of my heroes that this is becoming a mandatory purchase for those who were seeking Metal where Facebook and computers were not in sight. Killer Speed Metal that talks about killers and kills everything in sight with killer vocals and obviously killer riffs. The ’80s are back and with a vengeance record in 2026. And yes, it’s time for more movies in VHS! Contender for album of the year for me, yes even without cavernous vocals or blast beats. www.facebook.com/leatherheadofficial, www.facebook.com/noremorserecordsgreece