Warrant The Speed Of Metal Review
Warrant
The Speed of Metal
Massacre Records
2025
It’s been a long time since I’ve heard from Germany’s Warrant, but they’re finally back to remind the world that Speed Metal still means something. Their new album, “The Speed of Metal”, just dropped and it sees the band return with a battle-hardened edge.
As a kid, I really enjoyed their debut “The Enforcer”, it was pure, unfiltered German steel: rough, fast, and dangerous. The follow-up, “First Strike”, was short but lethal, a perfect continuation of what made the first one so damn good. Admittedly, I didn’t like the 2014 release – “Metal Bridge”. So, going into “The Speed of Metal”, my expectations weren’t set too high. Of course I was excited, it’s Warrant and it’s Speed Metal! Thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed.
The production is clean enough to give everything a punch but still gritty where it counts. The guitars have that biting, jagged tone that slices right through the mix, while the rhythm section feels like it’s locked in a constant dogfight with the tempo. The vocals don’t quite have the bite that they used to, but age will do that to you. It doesn’t hinder the album in the least; it’s still classic Speed Metal.
The band wastes zero time easing you in; the opening tracks hit like a Speed Metal sledgehammer. You can hear shades of “The Enforcer” all over this thing, especially in the breakneck riffing and relentless drumming. There’s even a re-recorded cut from their past (“It’s Up To You” and a killer cover tossed in, (The Sweet’s “Windy City”) but neither feel like filler, they’re more like reminders that these guys have nothing to prove. They’ve been there, done that, and are still doing it better than most.
What I love most about “The Speed of Metal” is how unapologetic it is. There’s no studio trickery, just pure, sweat-soaked Metal made by veterans who still have fire in their veins. If you were ever a fan of that early German Speed/Thrash movement, and especially if you hold “The Enforcer” and “First Strike” in high regard like I do, this new record is going to feel like coming home to a blazing inferno with a modern flair.
Is it perfect? Not quite, there aren’t many tracks here that’ll dethrone the absolute classics from their early catalog, but that’s a tall order anyway. What matters is that Warrant sound alive again, pissed off, and ready to shred. After several years, that’s more than enough reason to crank this one up and salute the return of a true underground legend.
“The Speed of Metal” is fast, fierce, and loyal to the roots that made Warrant such a cult favorite in the first place.
Standout Tracks – “Scream For Metal”, “Regain The Fire”, “Cut Into Pieces” and “Demons”.