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The Queen of Steel (2014) is an EP release by US metal act Dead Earth Politics. It is their first release since their debut album The Weight of Poseidon (2010) and features three tracks. Not the most substantial offering considering how long it's been since the album, but I think one of the more interesting releases I've reviewed this year so far. Not necessarily the strongest, but certainly interesting.
I'm talking about the sound of the music of course. To take a look at The Queen of Steel's artwork, a typical fantasy female in scanty and not at all protective armour sticking a trident into the head of what I presume is a representation of Poseidon (a reference to their album), you'd be forgiven of thinking that the contents of this EP would be in the classic heavy metal or a power metal vein. Well it's closer to the former of the two, but I'd say you'd be wrong overall. What we really have hear is something that sounds both old school and modern at the same time, the band combining classic heavy metal that has some quite distinct Iron Maiden vibes to it with a more modern groove metal sound that adds some Pantera to the mix, especially with the vocals although there is clean melodic singing too. Of the three songs I'd say Redneck Dragonslayer and Madness of the Wanderer lean more towards groove metal while the title track features a largely more traditional sound. Madness of the Wanderer is my personal favourite of the bunch.
On paper I'd say that this mix isn't the best recipe for success but Dead Earth Politics have surprised me with this one and produced an enjoyable little EP in The Queen of Steel. It not only works but it works very well, so I'd be interested to hear how this sort of thing holds up with a longer playing time. Best thing about it is that the band have released it as a name your price download, which means it can be obtained for free or a donation. I'm not sure their mix will be for everyone, but they certainly won me over quickly enough.
