Henry Metal

The following 2 album reviews are from Metal World in Bulgaria. All of Henry Metal's updated press can be seen at https://www.henrymetal.net/press


Thanks Metal World Bulgaria!

(Such great reviews from www.metal-world.info in Bulgaria that we had to translate them into English!)

May 30, 2017

Wizard Vs Demon Review

Just a few weeks after making his debut on the heavy metal stage in early 2017, Henry Metal has already recorded a second full-length album. Fortunately in his case, the enormous аmount of new material for the ever-increasing number of fans is not in any way at the expense of its quality. “Wizard Vs. Demon” consists of eight songs, composed with the quintessential old school heavy approach mixed with a lot of comedy. However, the musical seriousness remains undisputed.

On their second record, Henry and his apprentice Mages unleash a more dynamic and vigorous sound - a time machine, which sends us straight back to the heyday of classical heavy metal. This time the atmosphere is even livelier, full of emotional charge and humor, which will not let you get distracted for a second. Like “So Hath It Begun”, the musical eminence and the clever witticism are incorporated in equal doses. Most of the time Henry aims to amuse but the serious themes are present here as often. The music itself is highly impressive in every possible aspect throughout the whole album - it can make your jaw drop and your heart melt at the same time. Oh happiness, oh joy...

Everything begins with the title song’s relentless, dry and purely heavy riff. The tone is more brutal and the tempo is faster than ever, which is prominent in song after song. About the guitars… oh, the guitars! Every string touch proves to be fundamentally important to the catchiness of the riffs. “Succubus” is an absolute hit from beginning to end. For God’s sake, just listen to the solo after 3:00! Mind = blown.

As always, we can list many obvious influences like Metallica, Megadeth and Black Sabbath, present in Henry Metal’s fresh approach towards the classics. Speaking of freshness, there are quite a few catchy melodies in the next melancholic song named “Heavy Metal Is Dead”. But no, HELL NO! Heavy metal isn’t dead. We can now rely on Henry Metal to save us from the tons of boring and identical sounding new bands, all deprived of character.

Henry is a modern-day metal “Samurai”. This particular song is so fucking old school that if we did not know better, would assume it was indeed written in the 80s. And geez, those guitars! Henry and Mages definitely slay the solos like never before on this record. The riffing in “Hackers, Leakers, Truth Seekers” and “Possible Side Effects” is once again just plain sexy as hell. Then things get a bit more serious for a second with “Fukushima Ceviche”, which has an early Iron Maiden sound, but “Rock out” again shows the more rock 'n' roll side of things. A brilliant end to an even more brilliant album. People, there is hope for modern metal after all!

There is still a certain amount of mystery and magic surrounding Henry Metal and we may never find out what hides behind his mask – both literally and figuratively speaking – but that’s the beauty of it. Every wizard or magician has their secrets, which are better left alone. As the musician himself has said before, the name Henry means “rich” or “ruler” in German. Now we can safely say that Henry Metal is the one and true ruler of all metal wizards. Demons, beware!


Aprill 22, 2017

"So It Hath Begun" Album Review


Haven’t heard of Henry Metal yet? Well, you have definitely missed out a lot! And no, I don’t mean “heavy metal” - go and read that again. This is HENRY Metal, an old-school metal act from Chicago that is currently creating its own unique genre of music. He will blow your mind and whole existence away, making you dwell on life and laugh hysterically while headbanging to some seriously heavy classical metal. It is now time to immerse yourself in a moment of enlightenment.


Everything about Henry Metal and his music is yet rather clouded with mystery since you can’t find out much about him anywhere except on his website, but when you give his singles a listen, everything starts to reveal and speak for itself.

There is as much self-irony and comedy as there are catchy melodies and expressive guitar soloing in all of the singles and “Wrist is Pissed” is probably the most serious and old-school one. You can hear some definite influences from the 80s’ and 90s’ music, as well as a sweet reminiscent feeling embedded in the sound. Moreover, as Henry Metal has said himself in past interviews, “If the solo melts the face, you know the tune is ace”. The motto seems to be applying itself perfectly here because if “Wrist is Pissed”’s guitar attack doesn’t melt your face, I don’t know what will.

“Henry’s Saga” is another intriguing musical tale that conveys an even more nostalgic emotion in its beginning but later once more evolves into a high-speed riff race. After this, everything turns back to the intense and powerful vocals - a wonderful addition to the sorrowful melody, which surely will touch your heart.

Next in line is the “Workin' For The Man” single, which brings a more cheerful atmosphere but, of course, you can yet again feel the classical metal inspiration present in all of Henry Metal’s work. Next thing you know you’re chanting “Working for the man! Working for the man” all day long. Totally worth it!

As opposed to all above-mentioned singles, “Butthead Maven” goes for a more rock-ish sound but serves as another example for both guitar and vocal excellence, as well as great compositional quality. Once again, you just cannot miss the clever and funny lyrical hints, which apparently are becoming his trademark.

Last but not least in Henry Metal’s list of creatively explosive creations is “Boss of Me” - a song with a strong punk-ish vibe that probably most of us can relate to. Next time you want to delicately swear at someone, just play them the song. Rest assured, it will deliver the message.

Taken as a whole, Henry Metal’s music is contagiously catchy, hilariously witty and irritatingly brilliant. With just a few songs, he has already proven himself to be a musician of high artistic merit and his singles are definitely among the most interesting things that happened to music in 2017. Now there is nothing else to do but to wait and see what else he has prepared for us. Be patient, there is certainly more to come. - Metal World