Elegant Weapons are a UK-based heavy metal band formed in 2022 by Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner, joined by Lords Of Black and Rainbow singer Ronnie Romero, Uriah Heep bass player Dave Rimmer, and Accept drummer Christopher Williams. The band released their debut album ‘Horns For A Halo’ in 2023…
…and are the latest supergroup to grace the world of heavy metal! A “supergroup”, according to a brief internet search, is “a group formed by musicians already famous from playing in other groups” – such as The Three Tremors, Metal Allegiance, Act Of Defiance, Hollywood Vampires and Heaven & Hell, to name just a few. And now, we can add Elegant Weapons to the list – featuring members from some of the longest-serving bands in heavy metal history!
The band’s debut album ‘Horns For A Halo’ is ten songs and fifty two terrific minutes of metal, the kind of metal that’s timeless, traditional, and heavily “foot on the monitor” – characteristics Elegant Weapons have got spot on! The album opener ‘Dead Man Walking’ glides in on the crest of an anticipation-fueled intro, and, then with a much heavier backdrop, switches to a heart-pounding, adrenaline-pumping march of majestic heavy metal! Does it sound like Judas Priest? Yea, a little! But Elegant Weapons are more elegant than ‘Priest, much more melodic and grandiose. And in the shape of singer Ronnie Romero, the band has the next legendary metal singer to follow in the footsteps of Ronnie James Dio (Dio, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell), Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden), Geoff Tate (Queensryche), and (of course) ‘Priests very own Rob Halford.
The pace increases for ‘Do Or Die’, featuring the power-driven metal style of ‘Priest – and I promise that’ll be the last time I mention them – racing on with a purpose and intent that’ll rock heads vigorously back and forth. Elegant Weapons plant one foot firmly on the monitor here, echoing a forty year old sound born in the eighties during the NWOBHM evolution. A pulsating opening one-two to seriously whet the appetites of listeners everywhere, ‘Horns For A Halo’ swaggering on with the heaviest hitting song heard so far – ‘Blind Leading The Blind’ displaying a mighty foot stomp that metal icons Black Sabbath would be proud of. However, Elegant Weapons keep the tempo, energy and pizzazz at much higher levels than ‘Sabbath, the band oozing oomph in abundance! The intensity too, while not aggressively intense like heard in thrash metal, is overly emphatic, heralding a pleasurable listening experience of the tallest order. Strolling in as though taking a walk through a field on a warm summer day, ‘Ghost Of You’ brings to the surface air of balladry, the air heavy with a hard-hitting attitude that actually stops listeners from raising their lighters high!
Entering the realm of sleaze metal, ‘Bitter Pill’ is a swashbuckling head-held high march of majestic metal – the band roaming around the heavy metal genre, visiting every corner, nook and cranny! And the incredible range of singer Romero is so flexible, he adapts perfectly to any musical backdrop put in front of him, err, behind him! In fact, all four members of the band have a slightly different perspective on the music on offer, their backgrounds ranging from traditional heavy metal to power metal and rock! And right now, it’s back to good old galloping heavy metal, ‘Lights Out’ planting the band’s collective feet on the monitors once more. But hang on a goddamn minute! Something sounds a little bit familiar here – got it! ‘Lights Out’ is actually a cover version of the UFO classic, taken from the band’s 1977 album ‘Lights Out’, Elegant Weapons is doing a terrific job here, adding tonnes more energy than the original, yet losing nothing of UFO’s incredible melodious intent. The title song ‘Horns For A Halo’ is another foot-stomping ‘Sabbath-like thunderstorm, all heavy and moody, shuddering the ground and shaking buildings to their foundations – the band maintaining the album’s very strong elegance and majesty.
The band continue their jaunt around the metal and rock genres with a little Southern rock flavour, ‘Dirty Pig’ featuring a little of the Aerosmith swagger blended with just a sniff of the blues and Elegant Weapons‘ incredible melodic stance! Make no mistake, ‘Horns For A Halo’ (the album) is most definitely a metal album, yet the inspiration for all the songs on offer is so diverse – no surprise, really when you look at the talent and background of the four-piece on show! And hitting harder than everything heard so far, ‘White Horse’ features the mightiest foot stomp ever – the band relentlessly pounding the listener’s senses with no remorse! ‘White Horse’ keeps the intensity of the album unbroken, just as the final song comes striding over the horizon – ‘Downfall Rising’ combines every style of metal the band has in their arsenal. ‘Downfall Rising’ is a jubilant finale to a terrific album, Elegant Weapons firmly placing themselves in contention for the title of Album Of The Year.
Overall, an intense yet majestic march of heavy metal featuring influences from all over the metal spectrum, ‘Horns For A Halo’ is simply superb.
TRACKLIST
Dead Man Walking
Do Or Die
Blind Leading The Blind
Ghost Of You
Bitter Pill
Lights Out
Horns For A Halo
Dirty Pig
White House
Downfall Rising
Elegant Weapons: Facebook
Release Year: 2023
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Category: Album
Country: UK
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire and Metal-Roos.
