Löanshark is a heavy metal band from Spain formed in 2017, releasing their debut E.P., ‘The Warning Sessions, ‘ in 2018. The band’s first full-length album, ‘The Gangland Tapes, ‘ emerged in 2021, with sophomore album ‘No Sins To Confess’ a 2025 release.
Featuring a line-up consisting of vocalist/guitarist Lögan Heads (Crimson Storm), bass player Aless Oppossed (Crimson Storm), and drummer Angel Smolski (Raptore), Löanshark are just one of many bands who have recently emerged from Spain along with the likes of Hitten, Iron Curtain and Savaged to fly the heavy metal flag high – very high! Portraying an old school, traditional heavy metal sound, the bands new album is ten songs and forty foot to the floor minutes of all out head bang ability, ‘Electric Shockin’ Waves’ hurtling outta the gate at a hundred fucking miles an hour – Löanshark at full throttle right from the off! The electrifying pace here is phenomenal, as is the level of head bang ability – the head of every listener everywhere rocking back and forth at an extreme rate of knots!
And does anyone remember Iron Maiden’s ‘Tailgunner’ from the bands 1990 album ‘No Prayer For The Dying’ – well it has a younger brother don’t ya know, Löanshark‘s ‘Machine Gunner’ entering the fray with just as much thunder and galloping fury as its elder brother, the band encouraging everyone to bang their heads and raise clenched fists high in the air! What a barnstorming brace to open your new album with – simply sensational stuff from the Spaniards, ‘The City Goes First’ maintaining the incredible pace and power of the album! Pace and power which is all conquering, infecting every listener, fan and follower with an immense adrenaline rush, Löanshark delivering an irresistible threesome that’s gonna send every metaller fucking wild – wild with excitement! Has traditional heavy metal ever sounded so good? Of course it has – but Löanshark are breathing new fire into an already red hot form of metal music, ‘Another Man In The Trunk’ rocketing off at high velocity! Outstripping everything heard so far, ‘Another Man In The Trunk’ is urgency personified, the band roaring louder than ever to deliver an insane amount of head bang ability!
What a tremendous force of nature Löanshark are, devastating landscapes with a savage barrage of speedy heavy metal – so speedy in fact, there’s no limit, barrier or boundary to hold ’em back, ‘Backstabber’ marching on with the glorious guitar tone so synonymous with the iconic NWOBHM. And the classic “foot on the monitor” gallop too, the Spanish outfit perfectly echoing an invincible forty year old sound – a sound that I fell in love with the first time I heard it in err, um, ahem 1980! Fuck me that’s more than forty years ago, just where has the time gone! Into history books my friends, that’s where, which is where Löanshark are headed too, the band carving out their little piece of history right here – ‘Wet N’ Wild’ maintaining the incredible old school flavour! And I just can’t stress enough how strong the flavour is: stronger than gravity yes, stronger than an electromagnet, absolutely; stronger than my passion for heavy metal – err, um, ah, surely not! And if you still need convincing as to the credentials of Löanshark‘s unapologetic eighties metal sound, ‘Midnight Shooter’ should give you all the evidence you need! The highly infectious and catchy nature gallops forth to deliver a spectacular interpretation of the legendary NWOBHM sound – a sound which is still very much alive in the hands of the young guns from Spain.
There’s just no escaping the relentless heavy metal onslaught – the band maintaining a very tight grip on listeners’ attentions as ‘Bad Guys Don’t Lose’ storms on with more force than a hurricane, typhoon and a tornado combined! Have Löanshark just roared into contention for Album Of The Year? You can bet your very last dollar, pound and euro they have – the band delivering a sparkling cover of British metallers Marseille’s ‘Open Fire’ (off the bands 1984 album ‘Touch The Night’). Marseille were just one of the many bands that spearheaded the legendary NWOBHM evolution during the eighties, releasing three albums between 1978 and 1984 – Löanshark paying great homage to one of Britain’s earliest NWOBHM bands. Löanshark‘s version pretty much keeps to the pace and feel of the original, although the band do beef it up somewhat to fit snugly within the remit of ‘No Sins To Confess’ – the album coming to a close with the rabble rousing call to arms anthem ‘Heavy Metal Addicts’. Metalheads the world over will be raising their clenched fists high in the air and singing along with the band, “we are heavy metal addicts” at the tops of their voices!
Overall, a fast-paced, energetic heavy metal album with a sky-high infectious level and immense head bang ability.
TRACKLIST
Electric Shockin’ Waves
Machine Gunner
The City Goes Fast
Another Man In The Trunk
Backstabber
Wet N’ Wild
Midnight Shooter
Bad Guys Don’t Lose
Open Fire
Heavy Metal Addicts
Löanshark: Facebook
Release Year: 2025
Label: ROAR (RPM)
Category: Album
Country: Spain
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire and Metal-Roos.
