PERSIAN RISK – Once A King

Does anyone still remember Persian Risk? A couple of seven inch releases in the early eighties and one album in 1986 is all that could be found of this British band, which was part of the later age of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Well, if you don’t remember, it is time to place this band on your Metal map, because Once A King is an unexpected surprise of unforeseeable magnitude and is easily one of the best Metal releases that the British Isles have unleashed upon fans in the last decade!

Opening with the relentless “Asylum” and “Riding High”, the course is set for the album. Fantastic vocals on a base of timeless Heavy Metal, the kind that made millions of fans of this musical style in the first place. The musicianship is flawless, there is no showing off, there are only strong guitar riffs, an “in your face” approach to composing, and the Old School legacy that screams out of every song. Carl Sentence, the vocalist, who has tried to keep the band more or less alive over many years, now in-between working with many other projects and bands, has a strong, enjoyable voice and must be placed among the great vocalists that never received their share of recognition.

His performance on Once A King is flawless; he is able to show power and feeling in the uptempo tracks like in the verses of “Soul Deceiver” and “Ride The Storm”. Even the songs that would otherwise be a tiny little bit less in quality than others, each comes out so strong that there is hardly anything to complain about in any of the eleven tracks on the album. The only exception is the standard rocker “Women And Rock”, which keeps the album from receiving the perfect score!

Persian Risk have returned unexpectedly, and unexpectedly strong. It would be a tragedy if this album would go widely unnoticed and not get the attention it definitely deserves. It would be a loss for us all, so be sure to check it out and request to listen to it here. If one can only buy three albums in 2012, Once A King must be one of those.