HIGHLORD – Freakin’ Out Of Hell

December 27, 2022 Bryce Van Patten Album Reviews, Reviews 2
HIGHLORD - Freakin Out Of Hell album cover
  • 8/10
    HIGHLORD - Freakin' Out Of Hell - 8/10
8/10

Summary

Label: Rockshots Records
Release date: December 9, 2022

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10/10 (1 vote)

Aficionados of Italian Power Metal should know the veteran band Highlord, led by vocalist Andrea Marchisio from the start, with drummer Luca Pellegrino holding down the rhythms since the 2nd album. Freakin’ Out Of Hell is the band’s 9th full length release, and shows an evolution and maturity in every facet of song writing and production. Having been introduced to Highlord initially through a “release swap” between industrious underground Metal labels, this reviewer is not completely unbiased in his opinion of the group. That said, this is a really strong effort, and a definite accomplishment for the band.

Album Number 9

For their ninth album Freakin’ Out Of Hell, the band began recording it between May 2020 and December 2021. The album is self produced, which means that they were in control of the whole process, from start to finish. At the reins was bass player Massimiliano Flak at Evolution Recording Studio (Italy) recording, mixing, mastering, and producing. They used their time well in composing and creating a very solid record, that has great melodies, sweet haunting keyboards, and a new aggressive sound on guitars that turn things up a notch, giving us an eleven track album of pure Power Metal, with touches of Progressive Metal.

Final Notes

Highlord – Freakin’ Out Of Hell is a really great listen. With 52 minutes of melody packed Power Metal, sliced into 5 and a half minutes songs you can’t miss. The self-production is slick and polished, and the songs are well written. Favorite tracks for this reviewer include the instrumental “Prelude to Hell” as it goes into “Soul Sucker” for a great kick off of the album, and “The Devil’s Doorbell” as it packs a nice punch. Overall, Freakin’ Out Of Hell is worth a spot in your Power Metal collection, and a great way to end 2022 with some great new music.

highlord band photo

Lineup

Luca ‘T-1000’ Pellegrino: drums
Andrea Marchisio: vocals
Massimiliano Flak: bass
Marco Malacarne: guitars
Davide Cristofoli: keyboards

Freakin’ Out of Hell – Tracklist

01. Prelude To Hell
02. Soul Sucker
03. Freakin’ Out Of Hell
04. Sweet Unknown
05. Off The Beaten Path
06. Hollow Space
07. If You Say Yes
08. Eyes Open Wide
09. The Devil’s Doorbell
10. Fallen From Grace
11. One Eyed Jack

Author

  • Bryce Van Patten

    Bryce is an audio engineer and a graphic designer here at Metal Express Radio. From the day he purchased his first album (Machine Head by Deep Purple), he has had a passion for heavy music, which has influenced his whole life. Bryce is from the great Pacific Northwest in USA, and has played in metal bands like Babylon, Holy Terror, The Wild Dogs, Warhead and Egypt through the 80s. He had his first interview for the Portland, Oregon publication The Rock Rag with guitarist Paul Gilbert in his Racer X days. Then he was honored to get to have drinks, and talk for an hour with the legendary Dan McCafferty of Nazareth for his second interview. In 2013, he spent an amazing hour talking to Andi Deris of Helloween, which was the high point of his heavy metal journalism.   In the year 2001, he formed Man in Black Music Publishing. They released recordings by several local bands, and in the spirit of the old Metal Massacre compilations, he created a 2-album series called The Defenders of Metal. The albums featured classic styled Metal bands from all around the world, with bands from Australia to England, and from Argentina to Russia. Currently, he is the producer/creator/vocalist of the Metal band The Black Tuesdays.

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