Over the past couple years, Toronto has been going through a revival of old-school heavy metal. Metalheads will recognize the term NWOBHM which stands for “New Wave of British Heavy Metal.” This movement started in the early 80’s with the likes of Iron Maiden, Diamond Head and Angel Witch (and countless others). It combined the virtuosity of metal with the ferocity and speed of punk rock. NWOBHM lasted for a little while, then gave way to thrash and other forms of metal as the involved bands either packed it in or moved on stylistically.

The good news for fans of the genre is that it’s back in full-force and, as mentioned before, Toronto seems to be at the centre of it all. One of the most exciting bands in this scene is Phantom. (there are others too, but I’ll get to them another day) The first time I saw them was just over a year ago at the Hard Luck when they (fittingly) opened for the almighty Diamond Head and I now make a point to catch them whenever I can.

They have a new record coming out in a couple months, but for now I’d like to talk about their debut EP “The Powers That Be.” It’s not a groundbreaking record, as NWOBHM bands tend to follow a fairly strict template. What it is, is an extremely high quality throwback to Powerslave-era Iron Maiden. One could easily argue that Phantom is making better Iron Maiden records than Iron Maiden is these days. The title track and the catchy-as-hell “In Metal” are a rapid-fire two-punch. The third track “Keepers of the Flame” keeps this up before the shuffling “Killing Concubine” ebbs and flows in the same manner as a certain song about albatrosses.

By virtue of it being a six-song EP, “The Powers That Be” is able keep its momentum all the way through to the hair-raising finale “Citizen Pain” (which is arguably faster and heavier than anything Maiden did anyway) While it treads *very* close to the template set out by NWOBHM bands in the 80’s, I’m loathe to call derivative. Phantom is filling a void in a niche with head-banging, shred-tastic metal played with the utmost respect for their predecessors. Highly recommended.