A four-piece band of indeterminate origin (their home town is listed merely as “The Home of Kings”), Warkings are an international – presumably European based – supergroup who like nothing more than to cosplay while singing about such diverse subject matter as fighting, marching, combat, battles, warfare, and conflict.

Hidden under costumes, make-up, masks, and helmets, the only member to have his identity confirmed so far is frontman The Tribune, recently revealed as Georg Neuhauser, singer of the Austrian band, Serenity. Other members include guitarist The Crusader, drummer The Spartan, and The Viking on bass.

Whether you fall for the blatant gimmickry or not will probably depend largely on how old you are, and/or how much you enjoy the company of acts such as Hammerfall, Amon Amarth, Ex Deo, and Sabaton. Offering nothing more than simple escapism for forty minutes or so, the band’s second album Revenge (Napalm Records) is just good, silly fun-filled with swords, shields, and battlefield bloodshed.

From the gladiatorial arena of ‘Maximus’ to the 300-based ‘Fight in the Shade’, the colossal cheese-fest of ‘Banners High’, and the Viking warmongering of ‘Odin’s Sons’ (featuring “Queen of the Damned” Melissa Bonny on guest vocals), the songs are short, snappy and instantly catchy, none more so than ‘Warriors’ and the thunderous Rammstein stomp of ‘Warking’.

So, raise your sword skywards heroically, let loose a mighty battle cry, and march onwards towards glory. Then remember you’re listening to this on a pair of headphones in the middle of town, so just whistle casually, pretend nothing happened and just hope nobody saw you.

Pre-order “Revenge” now! https://smarturl.it/WarkingsRevenge-NPR

7/10

GARY ALCOCK