CRIMSON STEEL formed in 2018 in North Carolina, with an aim to provide us the upmost quality heavy metal, in the spirit of all legends of the 80’s metal scene. “Show No Fear” is not their first album, since they have already released the album “Night Creatures” in 2022, but this one features new members Tina Langevin behind the microphone and David Ryan handling the guitars.

Well from the first seconds of “Dark rider” (the first track “As Below, So Above” is the album intro) one could, most certainly, realize that CRIMSON STEEL is not your typical heavy/power metal band: their music is a blend of classic metal with crushing riffs and catchy melodies through the songs. Its an interesting blend of aggressiveness and melody that manages effortlessly to create a moody, “dark” atmosphere. Discreet keys that appear here and there help but do not overload the sound. Instead bassist Joel McGee provides us with various melodic passages (for example “Century Sword”) which reminded me of CIRITH UNGOL (in their most “traditional metal” sounding songs).

Songs are well crafted and performed in a stellar manner with Tina Langevin‘s dominating the sound: She has a powerful bell chime voice in the style of Lee Aaron or Jutta Weinhold that I really enjoyed, especially in the power ballads “Bleed into One” in which she is paired with the one and only James Rivera.

BLACK SABBATH. There are aggressive thrashy riffs among doomy themes. Highlights include “Bleed into One”, “Dark Rider” and my favorite track “Century Sword”.

Anyway, to sum up, I’d say that this was quite a surprise for me. In a world of pointless releases, this one manages to stand out. For me its a must buy and definitely one of the year’s highlights.

”Show No Fear’‘ will be released on the 1st of May 2026 by Heaven and Hell Records and will be available on CD and Digital format.