You nice folk who listen to the podcast will remember some of the most commented on guests from earlier this year, mainly because I struggled to get a word in edgeways! Well Steel Mage are back with a new single, Gareth takes a listen to see what the lads have produced this time –

Anyone who has heard Steel Mage’s first EP ‘The Uprising of Hatred’ are going to be amazed at how much this young super talented group of teenagers have progressed in such a relatively short amount of time, ‘Hatred’ for those who haven’t heard it is, a 4 track affair, sounding mostly inspired by classic thrash but with some other influences, the instrumental title-track even had a bit of a Pink Floyd inspiration to me, while the other 3 were more standard thrashers, which laid a solid foundation to build from.

And build from it, they certainly have, ‘Mandatory Detention’ takes the tight riffing and melodic leads from the EP and expands from there, the whole track has a much grander and more complex scope than any of their previous tracks, there’s just a load more riffs, time changes, different tempo parts, and loads more dynamics than before. Musicianship wise the guys are so impressive, every single one of them has come on in their level of competency, drummer (and youngest member I believe) Jack is just a complete monster, a really solid performance, loads of double bass and little fills here and there, there’s even blast-beats aplenty as well.

Thomas’ bass is also impressively noticeable, something that can be lacking in a lot of thrash, it gives the sound a bit of a ‘Havok’ like edge. Tommy and Louis’ guitars are also really striking, the riffs and leads are excellent, and definitely a notch up from previously. Louis’ vocals have also come on leaps and bounds, he seems a bit more confident behind the mike and his performance seems more natural this time round.

The lyrics, if you hadn’t realised, are inspired from the UK Lockdown, which this track was recorded in (I haven’t mentioned the surprise intro), and although I haven’t got the lyric sheet, I think the guys are tackling a very serious and relevant topic, about mental health. I highly recommend you check out (I mean buy it) this single from this Manchester quartet, and while you’re at it go get the EP as well, it’s really exciting stuff and I’m really looking forward to hearing more material in the future.

Mandatory Detention is on Pre-order now and releases via streaming sites on January 1st 2021