Armour – Armour

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Following two self-release EPs this is Armour’s debut full-length album, with a sound firmly rooted in 1980s traditional metal and glam without really trying to add anything new or different to the ready-made formula. The riffs are straight from the repertoires of Saxon and Accept and the lead guitar is reminiscent of Chris Holmes (W.A.S.P.), while the vocals are like a less-strained Cam Pipes (3 Inches of Blood). Song titles like Rock Out (Or Get Rocked), Sex Demon and Heavy Metal Drinkers indicate everything necessary to understand how these tracks will fare lyrically, and musically everything is well executed, but only in the same sense that a tribute band is musically competent, and 3 Inches of Blood are already doing precisely this, only slightly better, heavier and most importantly, first. There is absolutely nothing new here. In fact, this is intentionally old. Unfortunately that means it sounds as recycled as something with that aim only can and is really destined to appeal to listeners who miss bands making that style of metal. In modern terms, this is for people who are fans of what Bullet and 3 Inches of Blood are doing. Three points for doing what it does well, but more is needed.

Written by Andy Lye
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