Review IRONFLAME “Kingdom Torn Asunder”

Ironflame is the one-man project of Andrew D’Cagna, and he has been running this endeavor since 2016. The release of four full-length albums shows that the multi-instrumentalist has a lot of passion for Ironflame and a great flow of creativity.

With “Kingdom Torn Asunder” the latest release is ready to be launched and musically connects to the previous longplayers. D’Cagna hasn’t changed much, as he’s sticking to the same approach as before and when you listen to the quality of “Where Madness Dwells” there’s no need to adjust.

Ironflame stands for well-forged heavy metal that sometimes comes with some doom elements and a certain epic metal vibe can also be recognized from time to time. All in all this is a real heavy metal album with a twin guitar sound, great melodies and a majestic vibe that can be heard in songs like “Sword of a Thousand Truths”.

The start of the album is rather upbeat. “Blood and Honor” is a blistering metal song that satisfies with heaviness and melodies. The song is an exquisite headbanger and the same goes for the next song on the album.

“Soul Survivors” follows a similar direction although the tempo is a bit slower. At the same time, the song has a more atmospheric approach that allows the melodies to shine even brighter. “Riding the Dragons” is a hymnic metal song, followed by the pounding “Shadow of the Reaper”.
“Kingdom Torn Asunder” sounds quite European for a project based in the USA. Bands like Hammerfall and Helloween certainly had an influence on what D’Cagna delivers on the latest Ironflame effort, with the aforementioned “Shadow of the Reaper” being an excellent example of where the inspiration comes from.

Ironflame is an album that will delight the denim and leather enthusiasts. Traditional heavy metal is what D’Cagna offers on the fifth Ironflame album and one can say that he manages to keep the flame alive. It’s the dedication that makes this release a well sounding album that allows for some very solid headbanging.