At long last, that debut album is here: Force of Nature. Aptly titled, CHALLENGER’s first full-length draws from a deep well of heavy metal wisdom, and does so with gusto.

Their stated influences include Saxon, Iron Maiden, Tank, Rainbow, Judas Priest, Venom, Mercyful Fate, Running Wild, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and the UK’s Satan, and verily do CHALLENGER siphon off both the best and most idiosyncratic strains of those legends’ DNA and reconfigure them into a travelogue of pathos and bravado. The songwriting across Force of Nature suitably gallops with energy, but the band patiently allow each construct to unfold, retaining a sense of austere grace in the process. The leads are majestic and many; most impart a melancholy seemingly at odds with the jaunty tempos explored, but the sum effect becomes one of steely-eyed stateliness perfectly in line with the album’s wider “doomed hero” drama. That CHALLENGER posses impeccable chops – to the man, with actual bass guitar prominent in the soundfield – only make these eight mini-epics gleam that much brighter.

CHALLENGER may unapologetically look the past, but their heavy metal heroism is truly timeless. Behold a true Force of Nature!

Regular edition LP on black vinyl with:

insert

poster

sticker

post card

download code