BATTLE BEAST – Steelbound (2025) *HQ*
Finnish 6-piece BATTLE BEAST will release their seventh studio album, “Steelbound“, in October via Nuclear Blast. Armed with thunderous riffs, powerful vocals and infectious hooks, “Steelbound” will get you at first listen.
Battle Beast’s greatest success with irresistible seventh album ”Steelbound” is that there’s no suffocating overthinking. Instead, the Finnish crew follow their easy-listening, commercial instincts to unabashedly joyous effect. Cynics should move along post-haste. Evolved Pokémon-style from the simplistic silliness of 2011 debut Steel, Steelbound weaponises the same blend of pumping riffs, shredded guitars, overdriven synths and soaring vocals – featuring key-changes aplenty – with arena-seeking ruthlessness.
Pyrotechnic opener The Burning Within sounds like Nightwish covering some forgotten banger from Disney’s Frozen. Here We Are is a festival anthem in waiting, with the genius simplicity of that colossal chorus (‘Here we are / Standing strong / Hand in hand / We carry on’) utterly undeniable. The outstanding title-track comes on like ABBA stepping into denim and leather. Yes, that ridiculous. And that hopelessly irresistible.
Confidence pulsates through every song. Twilight Cabaret chucks in a spoonful of samba and a dash of Boney M before Last Goodbye unleashes enough power to get 100,000 fists pumping. The segue from 132-second orchestral interlude The Long Road into outrageously overblown highlight Blood Of Heroes would have even the mighty Sabaton thinking twice.
Angel Of Midnight is a top drawer dancefloor-filler straight from the neon-streaked 1980s. A highlight.
Chock full of poppy spark and changing it up often enough to never get bogged down, these 10 tracks fly by with a lightness of touch that’s rare in metal. Of course, the terminally straight-faced will be cringing themselves into oblivion as the Celtic flourish of Riders Of The Storm tumbles into lung-busting closer Watch The Skies Fall.
But listeners willing to enjoy brilliant songwriting and virtuoso execution with a splash of syrup and side of cheddar will be rushing straight back to the start for another helping of iron-clad excellence.
Highly Recommended
01. The Burning Within
02. Here We Are
03. Steelbound
04. Twilight Cabaret
05. Last Goodbye
06. The Long Road
07. Blood Of Heroes
08. Angel Of Midnight
09. Riders Of The Storm
10. Watch The Sky Fall
Noora Louhimo – lead vocals
Joona Bjorkroth – lead guitar, backing vocals
Juuso Soinio – rhythm guitar
Pyry Vikki – drums
Eero Sipila – bass, backing vocals
Janne Bjorkroth – keytar, backing vocals
Pre order:
nuclearblast.com/pages/album/steelbound
