Ignitor – Horns And Hammers

Ignitor
Horns And Hammers
Label: Metal on Metal Records, Revolt Vinyl Records, Metal World Records
Out: October 3^rd, 2024
Playing time: 48:17

Ignitor are a Heavy Metal band from Austin (Texas). The band was founded in 2003 and only guitarist Stuart Laurence and drummer Pat Doyle are still on board from that time. Since its formation, the band has released seven studio albums, one live album and one EP. The most recent was ‘The Golden Age Of Black Magick’ in 2020. ‘Horns And Hammers’, which was released in October, is now the band’s eighth album.

The album starts with the title track ‘Horns And Hammers’. And how! Ignitor hit the ground running. Twin guitar leads and the singer’s raspy voice. The drums drive it along. No prisoners are taken on ‘Imperial Bloodlines’ either. High Speed Metal. With a slight thrash edge and a great guitar solo. ‘Dark Horse’ is calmer and spreads a Doom Metal atmosphere. In addition to his raspy vocals, Jason McMaster delivers the one or other Metal Scream. But the US boys can’t be quiet all the time. The tempo is increased, but the hard, deep riffs remain. And the twin guitar solo alternates between Stuart Laurence and Robert Williams. The interplay between the two guitarists can also be heard on ‘Cyber Crush’. ‘Shattered Crosses’ starts epically. The song also has an anthemic feel later on, despite the high tempo. Galloping guitars introduce ‘Taking Up With Serpents’. Later it becomes rhythmic. The riffs bang out of the speakers. The vocals sound a little hectic in places. At the beginning of ‘Ferocious The Martyr’, a heavily distorted bass line can be heard. But soon the two guitarists dominate again. ‘Suicide Anthem’ is a great Metal anthem. For me, it’s one of the highlights of the album. The Speed Thrash cracker ‘Chaos Maximus Eternal’ is followed by another highlight with the Saxon cover ‘Machine Gun’. Once again, the twin guitars and the driving drums take centre stage. The album closes with the instrumental guitar outro ‘Terminous’.

On ‘Horns And Hammers’ we hear handmade, authentic Heavy Metal. The interplay between the two guitarists is particularly impressive. The current line-up has been together since 2015. And you can clearly hear this routine. Nevertheless, the recordings sound pleasingly fresh. You can clearly hear the fun the musicians are having with their music.

Ignitor – Imperial Bloodlines: https://youtu.be/hjex4dPZts8?si=0lLXYJBiZCwq_0z7 

Lineup:

Stuart “Batlord” Laurence – Guitar
Robert Williams – Guitar
Jason McMaster – Vocals
Billy “Chainsaw” Dansfiell – Bass
Pat Doyle – Drums

Track list:

• Horns And Hammers
• Imperial Bloodlines
• Dark Horse
• Cyber Crush
• Shattered Crosses
• Taking Up With Serpents
• Ferocious The Martyrs
• Suicide Anthem
• Chaos Maximus Eternal
• Machine Gun
• Terminous