Warrior
The Code Of Life

Back in the spotlight in '98 with the album Ancient Future, following a solid 13 years after their historic debut Fighting for the Earth, Warrior are trying once again to revive that narrative that made them a true cult band in the '80s. Disappearing from circulation after their excellent debut, they bring back the name and formula of the past with little hope of recapturing commercial success that never came, but with extraordinary determination that makes them worthy of attention. Yes, because their thunderous heavy anthem was one of the pillars on which the American power metal of the '80s stood (not to be confused with what power metal means today, it was really tough back then!), made of crushing riffs, martial mid-tempos, and pounding rhythmic hammer blows of guaranteed heaviness.

Unfortunately, Parry McCarty, a vocalist of fierce stature, is no longer on vocals, ably replaced by Rob Rock, who can give tone and interpretation to violent head-banging metal like Code of Life or the opening Day of Reckoning. The two guitarists, Joe Floyd (founder of the group) and Mick Perez, combine technique and a raw metal feeling. Some tracks, like Soul Survivor or We Are One, aren't exactly transcendental, and indeed, in the '80s, Warrior didn't achieve great satisfaction because the competition was better than it is now. However, it's also true that just a couple of tracks of unadulterated class, like the evocative instrumental Pantheon or the solemn The Endless Beginning, are enough to reconcile with heavy metal.

And today, that is enough.