Formed in mid 2005 by guitar player Alex Boccia and co-founding fellow guitarist Ryan Rickerson, the duo started writing material and performing under the name Old Ironsides, the nickname of the famous USS constitution known for its strength in structure and experience as it still stands today in Boston Harbour.

'Breaking Loose' opens the album in an uptempo metal style with quite a rocking little guitar hook offering up influences ranging from progressive rock to full-on classic rock, and the progressive side of things bounds on with 'These Eyes', another rocker of a tune leading into the melodic 'Hours Of Everyday' that evolves out and promises something but unfortunately falls flat; the basic idea of the tune in its prog form is there but the killer hooks and arrangements are somewhat off the mark to be brutally honest, as heard on 'Prelude To Midnight'.

The quaintly titled 'Dancing In Gobblers Gulch' does offer musical redemption to a certain extent and the one thing this album does possess is a crushing slice of guitar riffage on each individual track that does get the devil horns heading upwards; the perfect example of this is 'Tomcat', a track that obviously takes influence from the NWOBHM period and, with elements of acid metal on 'The Path Of Madness', the various inspirations of the record are wide ranging, travelling across various categories of rock.

A slight departure, almost on the verge of funk, also crops up on 'All I Need' and the inevitable acoustic track, 'White Chapel Vigilante', is just an average attempt at balladry. To conclude the opus the band have created a trilogy of music entitled 'March To War: Rise', 'March To War: Fall' and 'March To War: Redemption' - the first part has the Ironsides rocking it out, the softer moments of the artist rearing their musical heads, before Fall goes to Redemption and the tempo is raised up once more to end the album.

The Path Of Madness...Indeed it is.......

www.oldironsidesband.com