Steel Arctus – Dreamruler
Release Date: 28th November 2025
Label: No Remorse Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Heavy Metal, Power Metal, 80s Metal.
FFO: Judas Priest, Iced Earth, Manowar, Savatage, Helms Deep, Visigoth, Triumpher, Virgin Steel.
Review By: Rick Farley
Power metal/heavy metal is a genre I hold dear to my heart, since I am the resident old guy here. It’s a polarizing genre that some blindly hate and some blindly love. Me however, I am kind of in the middle, I proudly grew up with it and have been known to slay a few trolls in my days, at least in my own mind, but I can also recognize there’s so complete cheese metal that makes me question why, just why. Still, though, there’s something weirdly satisfying about high-pitched vocal screams, shreddy, riffy guitars and a punchy rhythm section that’s hard to ignore regardless of the songs content. That’s basically where I m at with Greek power metal sword slingers Steel Arctus, there’s some absolute heavy metal thunder on Dreamruler which is the bands third full length that was recently released November 28th, 2025, on No Remorse Records. Still though, with as many badass tracks here, there are a few that reach too far to the cheese side which makes the record feel slightly uneven for me. Don’t get me wrong, Dreamruler is a blast of wicked riff goodness and unbelievable vocals that is sure to knock the rust of your heavy metal conversion van with the side mural of a wizard fighting a dragon. When it’s good, it’s really fucking epic. However, sometimes the band seems like they’re running through the motions trying to get in the most bang for the buck, hitting all the heavy metal clichés way too hard.
This is especially true when the keyboards are used. It comes across hair metalish which could be what they’re going for, but for me, it’s a distraction that doesn’t belong. There are some killer riffs getting buried by cheesy keyboard melodies. Another issue I have is from song to song their influences show a little much, from sounding like Judas Priest riffs one minute, early Queensrÿche the next and a ton of Iced Earth, with Tim “Ripper” Owen’s high screams in between. Mind you, being influenced is fine, but I can hear remarkably familiar things that keep the record from being focused or sounding authentic, such as licks that could be George Lynch guesting or parts of the Legends of Warriors sounding like the melody from “Close My Eyes Forever.” There’s even a Bruce Dickinson sung whoa ohh ohh melody during Fate of the Beast that sounds exactly like him. This band is too good for that stuff.
Just a few examples, but you get the idea. It takes me right out of enjoying Dreamruler as a whole when these parts are too close to sounding like other songs, bands, musicians.
On the surface it would seem that I’m overly criticising this record, honestly, I’m not trying to paint the wrong picture because there are real bangers on here with sick riffs that would knock a raging bull clean out, going head-to-head. For me though, I’ve heard this record so many times already and to be honest their last record Master of War is better in my opinion. This is solid enough to spin a few times, but it won’t last through the rotation like their first two records did. As always, though, take this at face value and check this record out and see for yourself.
(3 / 5)
