Pokolgép was one of Hungary’s first heavy metal bands, having started in 1980 and still roughly playing the same style of music these days. Sure, there is a contemporary power metal edge to Pokolgép these days, but that probably would have happened anyway, as the first seeds of it could already be heard on their earliest releases, while most of the Priest worship and Accept-isms left the band with József Kalapács and László Nagyfi when they formed Omen. Their most recent album ‘Metálbomba’ is so full of energy and inspired songwriting that it’s easy to forget we are dealing with a bunch of seasoned veterans here.

‘Metálbomba’ features a completely revamped line-up. Most notably, it is the first album with current singer Attila Tóth, though he was in the band for more than half a decade at the time. While Tóth lacks the character of his predecessor – and my favorite Pokolgép singer – Joe Rudán, his cleaner, higher voice arguably fits the modern European power metal sound better, since Rudán was a bluesy hardrock singer at heart. Having a young drummer – Márk Kleineisel was only 22 years old when ‘Metálbomba’ was recorded – might have been the shot of energy the band needed as well.

Not that ‘Metálbomba’ sounds like a band well into the third decade of their career. The rhythms just sound a bit tighter than on its 2007 predecessor ‘Pokoli Mesék’ and there is an exciting bombast to the guitar arrangements. This much is clear from the moment the fantastically energetic opener ‘Az Álarc Lehull’ burts out of the gates. Thunderously rolling double bass drums, guitar riffs that are both traditional and timeless, Pokolgép’s trademark bombastic backing vocals in he chorus: it is simply the type of song that puts its listeners in the type of euphoria needed to get motivated to hear the rest of the album.

Fortunately, there is plenty more good stuff to hear. ‘Ringben’ starts out sounding like it will be the album’s first power ballad, but turns into a theatrical heavy metal track that despite its relatively short length has an epic feel. The title track is a monster of a track that cleverly plays around with time feel changes, while ‘Véssétek Fel’ is probably the most traditional-sounding heavy metal track on here. It could easily have fit on one of the band’s early albums. ‘Szemtől Szembe’ is a brilliant composition which starts out like it will give the average German Priest clone a run for its money, only to open up with a beautifully melancholic vocal melody over crunchy guitar riffs.

When heavy metal bands that have been around for a while release something good, it does often end up sounding like a watered down version of what once made them great. Pokolgép has no such issues. If anything, they are a more consistently good band today than in their early days, with just about every track on ‘Metálbomba’ being deeply impressive. Instead of toning down the guitars, founding member Gábor Kukovecz and relative newcomer Zalán Z. Kiss are all over the album and seemingly excited about it. Anyone tired of European power metal clichés should give ‘Metálbomba’ a chance. It feels remarkably fresh and inspired.

Recommended tracks: ‘Az Álarc Lehull’, ‘Ringben’, ‘Szemtől Szembe’