Iron Heart return to usher us into their wonderful world of madness

 By Jonathan Traynor

Have guitar, will riff, and worth the wait.

Iron Heart may have taken 11 years to release a new album but 2026 sees them follow up Revolution Calls with Welcome to the Madness.

And, for fans it has been worth the wait, 10 tracks that take everything you enjoyed about classic metal, modern metal then hits the refresh button to explode in your face.

There are more hooks in guitar and vocals, than a party of Cenobites ripping flesh.

Take, for example, ‘Never Kill the Soul’, or ‘Satan’ that elusive ability to write riffs than you can hum along to. Satan, in particular, takes the pace down allowing listeners to chant along that “Satan was an angel”.

However, what makes this collection more enjoyable than most is the sheer exuberance in all aspects of the songs. Even while dealing with deep lyrical themes there is a joy to be found in the totality of the packaging.

The production and mix bind the album in a fresh, bright sound that shouldn’t work in metal but does, enabling listeners to pick each element. ‘We Are Legends’ has that and has more than a nod to Stormzone. But then again Shawn has worked with that band and Harv...

This not a criticism,  just an observation that Northern Ireland is blessed with metal talent, thus there will be some crossover…new genre, Norn Iron metal excellence.

In honour of Welcome to the Madness there is a need to seek out this album on whichever digital platform you use, connect it to the loudest speaker you have, brace your neck, adopt your best air guitar pose, click play and accept the invitation to enter the madness, a madness that is glorious.