Review by: Nicky Baldrian

Hailing from Fontana, California, USA, we find Cinematic Melodic Heavy Metal Hard Rock quintet IronWrath, and they have an excellent new thirteen-track album out now called 'Master Storyteller' which runs in at just over an hour long and is the band’s debut release that has been produced by award-winning producer and band musician C.G. Ryche.

IronWrath is known for its theatrical stadium-style performances, and they were formed with the desire to approach their unique musical artistry through songwriting and live performances.

The new album kicks into gear with 'ONE,' a belting melodic power metal groove-based anthemic stomper. Singer Anton Petrenko puts in a hefty performance. The drum work from C.G. Ryche here is fabulous, whilst the added atmospheric edges give the song a Queensrÿche vibe. Sean Silas' guitar playing is fantastic and quite complex, and the whole song is energy driven and vibrant. The style, in some ways musically, also reminds me of Faith No More’s 'From Out There'’ but only slightly musically. Everything else is a powerful and very diverse, fantastic song.

Some female answers the phone just before 'Master Storyteller' itself ignites the party. It is a heavier track, again groove-based, with more of a sonic vibe, anthemic, with an alternative rock vibe. 

'Legends Never Die' meanwhile, is upbeat melodic, and catchy with powerhouse vocals from Anton. Vocally throughout the album, Anton comes across like a mix of Matt Kramer from Saigon Kick and Alice Cooper whilst cracking out his own style. The playing is quite technical with a dynamic, musically technical vibe with a fab punchy chorus. 

One of my favorite tracks is next. It is called 'Tyranny' and is superbly catchy whilst complex and technical. This style becomes the staple with a lot of the band’s songs. They pride themselves on their diversity and not just being standard arena rock nuggets. The guys experiment with a lot of ideas during the songs, like on this one, it can be quite atmospheric yet punchy and vibrant, with the whole band sounding fabulous. A point of note is Johnny Blackout's fabulous bass work, a lot of light and shade with this very catchy punchy rocker. 

Next up in the hard-hitting grooves of 'Thy Shall Return,’ the drum work from C.G. Ryche here is fabulous, and the singer is again in fine vocal form. 

'God’s Gonna Cut You Down' starts off stripped back and melodic. The song features lovely subtle guitar work from Sean, whilst singer Anton hits some magnificent powerhouse ranges. Sean's playing gets heavier and crazier later on during the song, and the whole song is just catchy as hell in the vein of, let's say, Steelheart. 

If the band wants to send one song to the radio shows, then it’s the ultra-catchy 'Freedom.' This is a hard-hitting anthemic hard rocker in the Alice Cooper vein, especially vocally, superb number. 

'I’m Alive' is melodic and eerie, with haunting vocals from Anton. It gets heavier and comes over in the Queensrÿche vein, yet it has also comes across as more modern and is somewhat of a concept song, crunchy, heavy, and dynamic. I love the vocal rapping.

Next up and kickin' some mighty wallop is the excellent 'Bed of Lies’ This song has a huge dynamic sound. The guitar work comes over riffy in a slight Metallica vein. The song is heaver and rifftastic, with little Eddie Van Halen influences ripping out here and there as well. The vocals are raspy, the song rocks hard, and it is another of my favorite songs on the album. It’s quite a punchy, hard-hitting track, yet as it changes, there is an eerie atmospheric edge before it bursts back into action. A superb track, quite Skid Row’ish.

My favorite song on the album is 'The Best Part of Me’ this ditty is a superb and subtle melodic ballad. Anton puts in some wonderful vocal performances throughout this track, he really hits some high notes, yet the subtle parts are also wonderful, a very pure classy song. It’s here that the band adds their atmospheric cinematic musical ideas. The whole song is just wonderful. 

The shredding continues with 'Masquerade.’ This song is again upbeat, catchy, and melodic, but again it’s also heavy as the song builds up. It’s a little more diverse, with some vocal rapping here and there. The whole band sound like they had a blast with this one.

'Imagine a World' is possibly the album’s most diverse song. It’s darker and more mysterious, musically is complex and technical, and perhaps the album’s most progressive composition. It’s quite sonic-based and atmospheric-based.

The album’s last song, 'Death March,' comes across again as mysterious and complex, maybe somewhat experimental with a Gothic edge. Again, the music is dynamic, and the band has really put a lot of effort into this track. The cinematic feel from the guitars is marvelous and adds to the depth and scope of this track, it’s also quite anthemic and the album’s longest track clocking in at five minutes nineteen seconds.

'MASTER STORYTELLER' is overall an album full of musical surprises. I love the diversity of each song, and C.G. Ryche proves himself to be quite the writer and musician in his own right. There is a lot going on throughout the album, it’s thoroughly enjoyable, and I have a feeling we will be hearing more from IronWrath.