As the dog-fighting solos of “Give Her To The River” battle across the sunlit horizon between your ears, flurries of shrapnel-barbed melodic notes and runs fired first from one side of your headphones then the other, for those of us who are battle-hardened Heavy Metal warriors it’s hard not to grin and surrender to the glory of the Ghost At The Gallows, for the Spirit Adrift has claimed another champion to its horde.

For while the road may have been long since Spirit Adrift set off down the trve path of Heavy Metal, and the fellowship may at times have been weary, armed with guitars, classic riffs, melodies, tales to tell and imbued with the joyous heart of NWOBHM and the virgin steele of those who love their craft, through practice and refinement they stand, ready to be granted what is rightfully theirs – the awaiting throne of the Kings of Metal.

All joking and Heavy Metal panto, bluster and cliché aside, it has been a long, long time since Manowar disappeared up their own arses, and while there have been claims from righteous challengers – Grand Magus, Visigoth, Traveler, Eternal Champion among them, trve Heavy Metal exponents each – Spirit Adrift have played the long game, building a catalogue that speaks for itself, with newest release Ghost At The Gallows (Century Media Records) the pinnacle so far.

Humility is a big part of the charm, it has to be said. Theirs is a love of an artform delivered with respect and reverence for their forebears: no cheap gimmicks or bravado here, ensuring they don’t rely on pace, exuberance, just licks and riffs hewn from over forty years of a style that went out of fashion even before the eighties had handed its shiny gauntlet over to metals alternative, nu, and grunge. With the legendary Sanford Parker joining Jeff Henson and band leader and heartbeat Nate Garrett on production duties creating the perfect mix of organic tones and modern clarity and brightness, they’ve never sounded better, either, nor has their songwriting ever been more controlled.

Nods are tipped to the instrumental tracks of early Maiden, and the classic wares Thin Lizzy, Satan, Manilla Road and many more carcasses of bands lost to time and tide, but with a dark and focused underbelly – Ghost… is lean and sinewy. “Barn Barner” adds bluesy swagger, well suited to Garrett’s gravelled croon, the ideal mix of proto-thrash chug, dancing six-strings, and a rhythm section capable of that Clive Burr swing and tempo mastery, before the traditional surge of “Hanged Man’s Revenge” is apex US Power Metal most triumphant.

There is little not to love and there are plenty of colours in the layers of guitar runs, rhythm section punches and pulls, and myriad classy twists that will keep even the most discerning horns raised, and the most jaded of fists-a-pumping. Honest Heavy Metal shines from the opening laps of water, through the bards tale of “The Two Hands”, an acoustic lament turned into a dark metal epic, via the swaggering anthems of the stomping “Death Won’t Stop Me”, the Randy Rhodes-flecked “I Shall Return” with Garrett warmly giving out the Bjorn “Speed” Strid feels, the brooding “Siren of the South” (that almost has a “Return To Serenity” vibe to it), onto the golden shores of the stately powerful title track.

Spirit Adrift have always had a strong claim to the crown. Ghost At The Gallows proves they are the rightful new Kings of Metal.

Buy the album here:

https://spiritadrift.bandcamp.com/album/ghost-at-the-gallows

9 / 10

STEVE TOVEY