Californian metallers and supergroup DEATH DEALER unleash pure and powerful metal dystopia across the ten tracks of their latest offering; Reign Of Steel. No strangers to the scene, the heavyweight line-up of DEATH DEALER includes Sean Peck (Cage, The Three Tremors, Denner Shermann) on vocals, Ross “The Boss” Friedman (Manowar, Dictators, Ross The Boss Band) and Stu Marshall (Dungeon, Empires of Eden, Night Legion) on guitars, Mike LePond (Symphony X) on bass, and Steve Bolognese (Into Eternity, Ross The Boss Band) on drums. Marshall and Peck also co-produced the album which was then mixed and mastered by Chris Themelco at Monolith Studios.
With work on the album being done during the pandemic, Reign of Steel was five years in the making, with Peck commenting that “We wrote this album while locked down in a dystopian reality. It gave us the focus to create what may be our finest achievement yet.”
Taking a more detailed look at Reign of Steel; Assemble is the high-octane opener to the album, and its pace continues into Devil’s Triangle, in which the power really starts to push through. For me, Riding On The Wings has an 80s throwback feel and although the pace slackens a little, it allows the vocals to really shine through. With a thrash-infused opener, the next track Bloodbath hits hard, and you can check out the official video for it here:
Raging Wild And Free is almost the ballad of the album and Blast the Highway felt a little lacking when it was released recently as the first single from the album, however, when you listen to it as part of Reign Of Steel; it fits comfortably.
There appears to be an almost belligerent undercurrent to the last few tracks of the album, kicking off with the slower paced Compelled, followed on by Dragon Of Algorath which nearly ends up as a battle of the riffs within the power-driven track. Peck’s vocal capabilities also come through once more on this track. Sleeping Prophet does feel slightly on the long side, however, it leads well into the final track Reign Of The Night which goes into one final power push.
The consistent wall of sound that you get from Reign of Steel means this isn’t an album you can sit down and listen to with a nice cup of tea, it’s far better suited to a high impact workout. Across the album, Peck’s vocals are superb, Friedman and Marshall offer up impressive and technical guitars throughout, the bottom end is held up consistently by LePond, while the rhythm powers through in the capable hands of Bolognese. There is a real aggression across this album, and for some bands this could push tracks into the realms of chaos, but DEATH DEALER demonstrate once more that they remain in full control throughout.
Track Listing:
- Assemble
- Devil’s Triangle
- Riding On The Wings
- Bloodbath
- Raging Wild And Free
- Blast The Highway
- Compelled
- Dragon Of Algorath
- Sleeping Prophet
- Reign Of The Night
Available on 23rd January 2026, you can order vinyl and CD here, or stream through the usual platforms, including Spotify. Check out DEATH DEALER on Facebook or Instagram.
“DEATH DEALER unleash pure and powerful metal dystopia across the ten tracks of their latest offering; Reign Of Steel.”
Special thanks to Massacre Records.
