JOHN STEEL (lead vocals David Reece, Doogie White) – Distorted Reality [+ 2 Bonus Albums, 2CD Set] (2022)

JOHN STEEL (the band named after the literal English translation of guitarist Ivan Stalev) are a Bulgarian traditional melodic metal band that are well known in central Europe. Having released two previous albums featuring Blaze Bayley and Doogie White respectively on lead vocals, they are now forging ahead with their third record ”Distorted Reality” featuring none other than renowned frontman David Reece (ex-Accept, Bangalore Choir, Bonfire).
But JOHN STEEL are releasing the new album in a 2-disc deluxe edition as well, including the band’s first two releases “Freedom” (Blaze Bayley all vocals) and “Everything Or Nothing” (Doogie White vocals) making this the first worldwide release of the John Steel catalog featuring the full and complete studio recordings of the band.
And all well worth the listen: this is classic, timeless metal with all the feeling and groove from the glorious era.

John Steel don’t mess around, and their latest album ”Distorted Reality” gets straight down to business with opening shot ‘Black Demon’. This is a steamroller of an introduction that crushes all in its path and features all sorts of guitar pyrotechnics from the tag team of Ivan Stalev and Victor Georgiev.
The pair have been ever present through the band’s history and display an obvious chemistry, but its vocalist David Reece who steals the show. Those who only know David from his tenure in Bangalore Choir and Bonfire might be surprised at his performance here, yet the hard-edged sound of John Steel suits his honey-soaked voice perfectly, and if you need proof, a cursory listen to ‘Dante’s Retribution’ will set you straight.
This is classic metal at its most celebratory, and (like most of this album) it races along at a furious gallop with David’s voice floating majestically and rising and falling with the neo-classical guitar lines.

I hope I haven’t made John Steel sound like a one-trick pony because there’s plenty of variety on offer here and the power ballad ‘Messiah’s Day’ injects a nice change of pace as it evolves from acoustic number into beauteous beast.
However, it’s metal meltdown that John Steel do best and ‘Rise From The Dead’ recalls classic Judas Priest (on steroids) insofar that it’s hard-as-nails, yet hook laden and melodic, and the two combine to create a foot-on-the-monitor, horns-held-high metal fest.
The eternal battle between good and evil is the thread that stitches Distorted Reality together, and they’re pulled tighter on the epic ‘Fallen Angel’. It’s a closer that’s almost progressive in nature as it shape shifts towards an ominous conclusion and, as the final notes ring out, it’s obvious that the collective known as John Steel are confident they’re at the peak of their powers.

Travelling back eight years we find ex-Iron Maiden / Wolfsbane singer Blaze Bayley at the helm for 2014 effort, ”Freedom”. It’s a record that doesn’t sparkle with the same panache as Distorted Reality yet comparing the two is rather unfair; the new album has a bigger budget and benefits from a core line-up who’ve been playing together for several years.
Anyway, at a mere 29 minutes, ”Freedom” rocks. It’s a fairly brief listen and one that feels over before it really starts; it leaves you hungry whereas ‘Distorted Reality’ made you sated.
The traditional form of metal that John Steel play has drawn favorable comparisons with Iron Maiden and that correlation is even more evident now that Blaze is at the mic.

After the intro, ”Freedom” really gets into gear with the title track, a song that could have been pulled from Maiden’s Virtual XI album, and it’s only the rudimentary production that prevents the band from causing serious carnage. ”Freedom’ features contributions from three different guitarists, yet it tends to put riff over solo and subsequently songs such as ‘Change’ and ‘The Crow’ tend to chug along at a similar pace and ‘Freedom’ rarely gets out of second gear.
There’s some flashy solos peppered throughout (such as those which tail ‘Nightmare’) but it’s not until the finale ‘Evil Sky’ that the band let fly, and a few more rockers like this would have made a more rounded effort.

On disc 2 we have 2017’s ”Everything Or Nothing”, an album where album Scottish singer Doogie White replaced Blaze Bayley as vocalist, and it was a move that marked a fresh start for John Steel.
The introduction of keyboards added texture to their sound alongside a light and shade they would develop further on ‘Distorted Reality’ and this is immediately evident on the opening couplet.
The imaginatively titled ‘Intro’ is a light and airy number, so much so that you feel it might float away and this litheness is juxtaposed with the crushing swing of ‘Creator’. There is a reason why Doogie has such a rich CV (credits include Michael Schenker’s Temple Of Rock, Rainbow, Alcatrazz) and he certainly makes his presence felt on this recording.
With a personality that matches his pipes he turns in an emotional performance and breathes life into tunes such as ‘Forever And Always’ and elevates the album several notches by dint of his presence.

Those trad metal influences are still present on ‘Everything Or Nothing’, as are the allusions to Iron Maiden (Doogie auditioned for Maiden but was usurped by Blaze) but this album is the sound of a band coming into their own and developing a signature style.
You can hear a real development from ‘Freedom’ and songs such as ‘One God’ encapsulates all that’s great about classic metal from the hard hitting rhythm section to the blistering guitar solos and, of course, Doogie’s soaring vocals.

If any song deserved to be played in a huge arena with thousands of lighters/mobile phones held aloft then it surely is ‘Spirit Lies’. It’s a shame that this was the only album that Doogie and John Steel collaborated on because they certainly bring out the best in each other, and especially on the epic ‘Emperors New Clothes’.
Two semi-acoustic tracks featuring singer Dillan Arnaudov close the album listed as bonus, both strong numbers.

You’d think a collection of albums featuring three of metal’s best vocalists would overshadow John Steel somewhat, yet it’s to the band’s credit that they more than hold their own in such illustrious company and in doing so they’ve produced three sensational classic metal albums.
This is clean, coherent, streamlined metal, and that’s a point worth emphasizing. Too often, heavy metal bands clutter things up with a narrative whose ambitions far outreach their collective grasp, or musical arrangements that suffocate the songs.
That said, often, what first seems simple isn’t. And the fact that major tracks like ‘Women Of Ice’ and ‘Dante’s Retribution’ take time to reveal themselves means they’re not immediately lovable. But it’s the effort required to get there that counts, and that in itself is a large part of the payoff.
Highly Recommended

DISC 1
Distorted Reality (2022) David Reece on vocals
01. Black Demon
02. Distorted Reality
03. Woman Of Ice
04. Dante’s Retribution
05. Evil The Spell
06. Messiah’s Day
07. Rise From The Dead
08. Fallen Angel

Freedom (2014) Blaze Bayley on vocals
09. War
10. Freedom
11. Change
12. The Crow
13. Voice Of Sorrow
14. Nightmare
15. Evil Sky

DISC 2:
Everything Or Nothing (2017) Doogie White on vocals
01. Intro
02. Creator
03. From Dusk Till Dawn
04. Forever And Always
05. Behind Closed Doors
06. Lost Messiah
07. One God
08. Spirit Lies
09. Wings Of A Storm
10. Behold The Night
11. Emperors New Clothes
12. Angel (Bonus Track)*
13. Leviathan Rises (Bonus Track)*

Ivan Stalev (John Steel) – Guitars
Victor Georgiev – Guitars
Peter Petrov – Bass
Jivodar Dimitrov – Drums

Lead Vocals:
David Reece – CD1 tracks 1-8
Blaze Bayley – CD1 tracks 09-15
Doogie White – CD2 tracks 01-11
Dilian Arnaudov – CD2 tracks 12, 13 *

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