Flotsam And Jetsam – Iron Maiden – Single Review

Source // bravewords.com

No, not a cover version of the Iron Maiden classic but a damn fine homage to the UK’s finest nonetheless!

Flotsam and Jetsam have a new album to promote – the self titled Flotsam and Jetsam due on May 20th –  and these power/thrash diehards are announcing their return with a powerful single that retains their thrash heritage while tipping the proverbial cap to the riffing style of the mighty Maiden.

Never one’s to skimp on the operatic – and why would you when you have a vocalist as skilled as Eric AK in your ranks – the sheer quality of “Iron Maiden” bodes well for an album that could prove to be their finest effort since the glory days of Doomsday For The Deceiver and No Place For Disgrace.

Highly melodic, f*ckin’ frantic and forged by pure metal strength and the experience of men entrenched in thrash metal history, this is the sound of a band utterly rejuvenated and ready to remind the world that they were once contenders for metal’s hallowed throne for a damn fine reason.

2016 has already seen Metal Church return with their classic take on melodic thrash and now we have Flotsam and Jetsam weighing in with a highly satisfying return to form. The old guard are back and they sound fresher than ever! 8/10

The current incarnation of Flotsam and Jetsam was born in January 2015 when Eric AK, Mike Gilbert, Michael Spencer, Steve Conley and Jason Bittner (Shadows Fall) banded together to start rehearsing for their 2015 European tour dates and to commence writing for the band’s 13th record. After a 5 month initial writing process, the band completed 18 rough ideas to start having Bittner track drums to. At first the band thought about a double release, but realized it would be better to concentrate on an album’s worth of killer material by what essentially is a new band with a 30-year history.

After picking the final songs, the band compiled some demos to start gathering label and producer interest. Shortly following summer festivals, a short US tour, and another fall European headline tour, the band finally secured Chris Collier (Prong/KXM) to produce the band’s “return to form”, as well as AFM records to provide the much needed label support that the metal veterans required.

The end result is the album Flotsam and Jetsam, the culmination of a year of hard work which shows five very distinct personalities and influences come together for the common goal of creating another soon to be metal classic, as well as another pillar in the foundation of a band that has managed to stay alive and current amongst an ever-changing music scene.

The album is available to purchase from: http://promo.afm-records.de/flotsam_jetsam/en.html

Flotsam and Jetsam album tracklisting:
01. Seventh Seal
02. Life Is A Mess
03. Taser
04. Iron Maiden
05. Verge Of Tragedy
06. Creeper
07. L.O.T.D.
08. The Incantation
09. Monkey Wrench
10. Time To Go
11. Smoking Gun
12. Forbidden Territories