Alchemy And Chaos is the debut EP from Welsh metallers Ironclad and it showcases a band with plenty of potential.
Although Ironclad is a new band, only having formed several months ago, it’s clear that the fourpiece have a lot of experience between them due to them all playing in other bands prior to forming Ironclad and indeed, they sound more like a band that has been playing together for several years rather than several months – which can only be a good thing. The music is nice and meaty, with a good amount of bite to it, and although the music is fairly conventional it still makes for good listening.
What works well about the music is that there’s a nice element of complexity to the music, particularly the guitars on third track The Disease, and the vocals have a wonderful murky tone to them throughout that lends itself well to the music, giving it an extra edge as a result. Additionally, there’s also a cover of Cerebral Fix’s track Creator Of Outcasts and this helps to make the EP a sense of familiarity as a result.
Ironclad haven’t reinvented the wheel with this one, and it’s quite clear that they’re still fine-tuning their sound – but Alchemy And Chaos is a great start for the band and it will be interesting to see where they go from here.
7/10
