Scream Maker is a heavy metal band from Poland formed in 2010, releasing three albums to date – ‘Livin’ In The Past’ (2014), ‘Back Against The World’ (2016), and ‘BloodKing’, originally released in January 2022…
…reissued by Frontiers Music in December (2022) after the band signed to the label. Scream Maker has played over three hundred shows in Poland and abroad, performing with luminary metallers such as Judas Priest, Saxon, Nightwish and Stratovarius. The band’s latest album is a mammoth fifteen songs across a monolithic sixty-eight minutes! The one-minute effects-laden and tension fuelled intro, ‘Invitation’, invites listeners to come aboard the Scream Maker roller coaster…
…as it thunders into life with ‘Mirror, Mirror’ and races off into the distance with a staggering amount of heaviness! And with a sound that smells very strongly of muscular American power metal – big, beefy and bombastic with extra oomph! A stellar start to the album, Scream Maker marches on with the title song ‘BloodKing’, echoing the power-driven style of British metal masters Judas Priest – the Polish five-piece taking onboard inspiration from two of the top countries in the world for heavy metal, The opening double salvo has been sitting up take notice material, and is only a fraction of what’s on offer – there are still a dozen songs yet to come!
The first of which, ‘When Our Fight Is Over’, takes a much more mid-tempo approach to heavy metal, increasing the melodious nature of the album – not to mention raising the infectious level to new heights! What an absolutely barnstorming opening treble…which becomes a quadruple, with ‘End Of The World’ returning the muscular magnificence of earlier. Hitting harder than a heavyweight boxing champion, ‘End Of The World’ also has an aggressive edge tucked within the band’s incredible melodic approach. An approach that gets even stronger courtesy of the band’s self-titled song ‘Scream Maker’, and a mighty anthemic feel is felt for the first time – with bands such as Manowar and Sabaton reeling backwards with the sheer force oozing from ‘Scream Maker’.
Most of the songs on offer clock in at under five minutes in length, ‘Hitting The Wall’ the first to exceed the five-minute mark! And maintaining the album’s phenomenal energy and oomph – albeit with a punchier feel than heard so far. Scream Maker visits every corner of the heavy metal genre to give listeners, fans and followers a diverse range of songs to enjoy – and enjoy you will, as the band forge on with ‘Join The Mob’, a mid-tempo swagger of even punchier metal than just heard. Heavy on the guitar, ‘Join The Mob’ is a ground-shuddering foot stomp of Judas Priest-esque proportions. I am – as I’m sure you are – thoroughly enjoying the blend of American and British heavy metal…all from a (mainland) European metal band! And for the first time, a serenity descends upon the album, and it sounds like we’re heading for ballad country – ‘Die In Me’ a mellow swagger of emotion and reined in power! Is it a ballad? Is it a hymn? It’s actually both, with a small dose of the anthemic thrown in for good measure.
Stepping up to punch hard once again, the band slam the listener with ‘Powerlust’ – an aggressively complex blend of power and traditional heavy metal with a head-bang ability to please the world’s mosh pits. The headbanger in me loves this, and the rocker too – ‘BloodKing’ (the album) displays plenty to attract fans of both heavy metal and hard rock. And also the alternative, progressive and grunge metallers too – ‘Tears Of Rage’ a combination of every style the band have in their arsenal! A definite departure from the album’s sound up to this point, Scream Maker is seemingly not afraid to cross boundaries, widening their horizon to new levels. Returning to more well-known territory, the band rock hard with the pulsating ‘Petrifier’, incorporating an element of AOR – the element of a feel-good party anthem! ‘Petrifier’ is probably the lightest song on offer, but also one of the happiest sounding and most infectious.
And for a brief moment there, I was apprehensive of ‘Candle In The Wind’ – fearing it would be a cover of British singer, pianist and composer Elton John’s classic from his 1973 album ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’! But as soon as (Scream Maker‘s) ‘Candle In The Wind’ began – I needn’t have worried. The thundering intro and foot-stomping rhythm totally different to the Elton John song of the same name.
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And the length too! ‘Candle In The Wind’ clocking in at over six minutes in length, making it by far and away the longest song on offer. And now, do I detect a touch of the classic sound of atmospheric intro’ing by legends Iron Maiden as the first fifty seconds of ‘Brand New Start’ glide by! It certainly sounds like it – yet when ‘Brand New Start’ kicks on, it’s all Scream Maker and their brand of punchy power-driven hard rock come heavy metal. And bringing the album to a close is the serene and mellow offering ‘Too Late’, portraying the classic sound of a power ballad.
Overall, a thundering journey of traditional heavy metal blended with elements of hard rock and power metal.
TRACKLIST
Invitation
Mirror, Mirror
BloodKing
When Our Fight Is Over
End Of The World
Scream Maker
Hitting The Wall
Join The Mob
Die In Me
Powerlust
Tears Of Rage
Petrifier
Candle In The Wind
Brand New Start
Too Late
Scream Maker: Facebook
Release Year: 2023
Label: Listenable Records
Category: Album
Country: Poland
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire and Metal-Roos.
