After leaving Iron Maiden in September 1981, Paul Di’Anno has had something of a chequered career and one that’s been dictated by a restless spirit. It’s been a quest in search of that elusive sound played by the right musicians and has led our intrepid vocalist around the world (several times), but with his current project Warhorse you feel he’s finally found his spiritual home. It shines through in a band who are happy in their own company and have produced ten rockers in the shape of Paul Di’Anno’s Warhorse that marks Paul & Co. a vital, contemporary force.

If there’s one thing that stitches Paul’s career together then it’s energy, an unbridled effervescence that can’t be faked, and that’s precisely what powers opening track ‘Warhorse’. With galloping drums and screaming guitars that replicate a horse’s neigh, the band march in like an invading army and proudly plant their flag on the metal map. It finds Paul in fine fettle and with a voice that’s aged particularly well, it’s as if his vocal cords have been marinated in whisky and flavoured with Marlboro cigarettes and when you factor in some balls-to-the-wall heavy metal, you have an explosive mix. With a sound that brings to mind classic Accept and Grave Digger, this is a very European sounding album (which, of course, is a good thing) and will please anyone with a fondness for that era, yet there’s also a contemporary edge that places the band right in the here and now, and no more so than with the self-explanatory ‘Stop The War’, and while political songs can age quite quickly, you feel this one will remain fresh many years hence.

Unfortunately, any review of Paul Di’Anno’s work will draw comparisons to his time in Iron Maiden and that was something I hoped to avoid, yet when listening to Warhorse I can’t help thinking that this is the type of record I wish Maiden would still make, rather than the stodgy type of prog they’re currently churning out. In opposition to that stale progressive rock, Warhorse sounds lean and vital; the band are undoubtedly hungry and songs such as ‘The Doubt Within’ have the bones poking through the flesh, which is exactly how heavy metal should sound.

Forming the core of Warhorse are guitarist Hrvoje Madiraca and multi-instrumentalist Ante Pupačić Pupi and along with Paul they make a tight unit and that means that the guest musicians add a touch of spice, rather than detracting from the band’s power and Warhorse do sound powerful; songs such as ‘Here Comes The Night’ swing with wrecking ball force. Warhorse is an album that ebbs and flows exceptionally well and a light hearted cover of ‘Tequila’ injects an element of fun, and on an album that revolves around Di’Anno’s voice, allows the bad to come to the fore. Breaking out the drum machine for a cover of Depeche Mode’s ‘Precious’ was the last thing I expected, but in a case of fortune favouring the brave, it really works and the band deliver a haunting rendition that’ll circle the listener like a spectre long after the disc’s stopped spinning.

A raucous ‘Going Home’ brings the album full circle, and it does indeed feel as if Di’Anno has finally found his permanent residence. And long may he dwell there.

• Paul Di’Anno’s Warhorse is released via BraveWords Records on 19th July 2024.
• Official Website

Track List:

1. Warhorse
2. Get Get Ready
3. Go
4. Stop The War
5. The Doubt Within
6. Here Comes The Night
7. Tequila
8. Forever Bound
9. Precious
10. Going Home