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Canada's Iron Dogs is going for a lo-fi, D.I.Y. sound on their second album, Free and Wild, which is reminiscent of the NWOBHM's glory days. The instruments are played with frenetic energy and while there aren't any obvious mistakes it's pretty clear Iron Dogs wouldn't give a shit if there were. Once you get past the big middle finger to the face, though, you'll find there isn't much to like about Free and Wild. The vocals are heavily coated with echo but that cannot hide their limitations. At the beginning of the album, they are passable, even on "Adversity" when they sound like a Heavy Metal version of The Dead Kennedys' Jello Biafra, but as Free and Wild progresses, being in tune seemingly becomes less and less important. The guitars have a nice sound but the riffs are stale and uninteresting. The songwriting is sub-par and nothing, other than the flat singing, remains even after multiple spins.

I love all things NWOBHM, both the original music and the bands of today that are playing the style and doing it well. Iron Dogs is trying hard to evoke the sound of pioneers like Sledgehammer and present-day bands like ZUUL or Screamer, but, other than the attitude, which they have down pat, they don't even come close on Free and Wild.