Ignitor: Haunted By Rock & Roll (EMP)

This one kind of went under the radar as 2017 came to a close. Haunted By Rock & Roll is the sixth album from Texas-based old school heavy metal crew Ignitor. The band has, for the last four albums, featured Dangerous Toys/Watchtower frontman Jason McMaster.

Ignitor has always worn their influences on their (studded and spiked) sleeves, so it’s no surprose that Haunted By Rock & Roll has a classic heavy metal sound that recalls Raven, Omen and Mercyful Fate. It’s all tight, high-speed riffs, pounding drums, and of course McMaster’s signature shrieking vocals. No silk, only steel, and sometimes that’s exactly what you want in a heavy metal album. Haunted By Rock & Roll boasts a movie tie-in song in “Hatchet (the Ballad of Victor Crowley)” as well as a spirited cover of Raven’s “Hung, Drawn and Quartered,” but the album’s best tracks are the metal thrashing mad “No Sanctuary,” “Leather Forever” and the title track, where it’s all about raising the fist for metal.

Ignitor isn’t breaking any new ground here, but that’s kind of the point. You want to hear Jason McMaster screaming his way through some hard-hitting, old school-style metal songs, and that’s exactly what Haunted By Rock & Roll is all about. Fans of Raven, Omen, BAT, Final Sign and old school metal in general should have a lot of fun with this one.