One thing that impressed me right off the bat with Henry Metal’s “The Maestro Abides” is how authentic it is. This captures the exact sound of metal as I remember it was when I liked it in the late 80’s, early 90s. Listening to the track “Rock N’ Roll Rebel” made me feel like I was transported back to a late summer evening in 1989 watching Return of the Living Dead II on HBO, enjoying some pop secret microvave popcorn. Henry Metal’s music is refreshingly melodic in a way that most metal isn’t today. The vocals on “The Maestro Abides” are expressive and emotive.
When listening, one understands that the artist here doesn’t merely “like” metal but actually understands metal and how to achieve the precise tone technically at every level. Often times bands and solo artists might be influenced by a particular genre, but their attempt to emulate or channel the sound ultimately spins off into something similar but not quite what they were going for (although sometimes still great.) What Henry Metal manages to do is what every artist aspires to. He actually achieves the sound he appears to be striving for and does it quite proficiently.