REVIEW: WINGS OF STEEL “Gates Of Twilight” 2023

Talk about literally stepping into a time machine. I’m old enough to have been there during the 80’s and these guys weren’t even born yet, but somehow they have managed to easily capture the feel and vibe of the early part of the 80’s before MTV and radio tainted the Heavy Metal format by demanding a power ballad and watered down anthems.

Even the production sounds like from the time period! It’s not perfect mix, but it’s perfect for capturing those early days as Los Angeles was exploding with influences from the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal and 70’s Glam.

So, perhaps since these guys are from LA, they were able to channel the ghosts of the past Metal bands of the glory days. If I had to compare them to one band, it would probably be Steelheart as they do some slower bluesy Metal with a singer who can shatter glass like Leo Unnermark. But there’s influences of Whitesnake, Queensryche, Scorpions and even Van Halen too. They are most likely influenced by Led Zeppelin as many of the 80’s band were.

Having given you all these comparisons, I have to say that they have their own style too. They’re not just copying what they’ve heard, they’re putting their own style on it too. Guitarist Park Halub has a wide range of styles in his arsenal that most likely give them freedom to run wild in their writing.

They love the epic style of building slow and building to a crescendo by the end of the song.  Unnermark is oozing with charisma and is completely immersing himself into the music. They are unabashedly different than 99.9 percent of American band and seem to be giving the middle finger to the industry.

If I sound excited I am. You don’t run across young guys doing this style so well and keeping the spirit of this era alive. I’m giving the album a 7.5 out of 10 “Flaming Fists”, which is a great rating, but I’m giving them space to keep building. This is an amazing effort, but I what I hear is a band on the verge of doing amazing things, so as much as I’d like to rate this higher, I truly believe they have much more to show us.

Wings of Steel is a hard rock/heavy metal band founded by vocalist Leo Unnermark and guitarist Parker Halub in 2019. The two met while studying music in Los Angeles and have been working together ever since. Rooted in the old-school hard rock and heavy metal of the 70s and 80s, the band’s style could be described as an epic, new and unique expression of those classic styles. Unnermark’s bluesy dynamics and powerful high register with Halub’s bombastic riffs and expressive soloing come together to create a distinctly massive sound that speaks for itself.

Tracklist for Gates of Twilight:
1. Liar In Love
2. Fall In Line
3. Garden Of Eden
4. Cry Of The Damned
5. She Cries
6. Lady Of The Lost
7. Leather And Lace
8. Slave Of Sorrows
9. Gates Of Twilight
10. Into The Sun