Highly recommended to every fist-pumping, head-banging Metal fan out there.

"Metal will never die", Ronnie James Dio sung on what turned out to be one of his last ever recordings – and after having listened to Scream Maker's debut album 'Livin' In The Past', you know one of the Founding Fathers Of Heavy Metal was right. Backed up by Alessandro Del Vecchio's flawless production and guest musicians – legendary Polish guitarist Wojciech Hoffmann (Turbo) and keyboard virtuoso Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), this young Polish band appear to have it all. But do they...?

Apart from the enthralling, futuristic cover artwork (designed by Roslaw Szaybo, the man behind the Judas Priest's 'British Steel' cover), what 'Livin'...' offers is a journey decades back in time – back to the days when denim-and-leather clad Metalheads were neither a rarity nor dusty museum pieces.

Instead of following the current trends and recording another soulless Gamma Ray and/or Helloween clone, what SM presents is only a little bit of Power Metal gallop so as to spice things up ('Glory For The Fools' or the final anthem 'Metalheads'). The rest – from the single track 'In The Nest Of Serpents' to the Alice Cooper-infused, direful 'Confessions' – is pure Classic Heavy Metal with distinct influences of NWOBHM; the kind of thing every Iron Maiden, Dio or Saxon fan should certainly dig. In mellower tracks – such as 'Livin' In The Past' or 'All My Life' – you'll hear some distinct vibes of 1980s Hard Rock along with bands like Dokken. And of course, there are moments that are slowdown as well – 'Stand Together' and 'Never Say Never' are the sort of tracks that bring to mind a sea of cigarette lighters held aloft by a barely dry-eyed concert audience.

Fronted by Sebastian Stodolak, a charismatic and talented singer whose high pitched voice brings the best vocal traditions back into the world of Metal, and comprised of musicians eager to strike a spark out of their instruments – Scream Maker certainly knows what Heavy Metal is all about. And it's more than possible we'll hear about these self-proclaimed Warsaw-based "Metalheads" in the future, with 'Livin' In The Past' being hopefully just a beginning of a promising career. Highly recommended to every fist-pumping, head-banging Metal fan out there.

Alexandra Mrozowska