Dark Age - A Matter Of Trust

These Hamburg lads know how to make some raging modern metal, tell you what.According to the Dark Age, their latest album represents a new direction for the band in 18 years. Being a popular modern metal band in their native Germany, they were concerned about their sound becoming stale and allowed themselves to let newer musical influences seep into the writing process. The result is their seventh studio effort, A Matter Of Trust.

The title is wholy apt as the music has a fresh feel to it, something they would say has to do with their giving into these influences with complete trust in their own abilities to work together to form a cohesive - and more importantly, listenable - musical result. The final product does in fact sound fantastic. There's an energy here that seems to lack in a lot of metal bands, especially ones that have been around as long as Dark Age has. The groove of Afterlife and Fight! are good examples of that energy with a dirty main riff that twangs its way through the song while the blitzkrieg drums bash it out. 

The Bottom Line: Dark Age succeeds quite well in their attempt to bring their modern influences into their songwriting. And that makes for a groove-centered, contemporary metal album that keeps things fresh without losing that all important heavy edge that rockers desire.

Tracks To Crank On The Car Stereo Next Time You're Cruising The Highway: AfterLife, Out Of Time, Fight!, and Dark Sign

- Genghis thinks getting some leather pants would be a pretty bad idea...