This band was a great find for me over the summer, a really fun stoner/heavy metal act that reminded me of the early days of stoner metal, when the retro fuzzy guitars and Sabbath worship was going on full-time, but also augmented by the heavy metal influences of the 80s. Superchief hail from Des Moines, Iowa here in the U.S. and while they do not have the most original sound out there, you can tell that they have a passion for rock and love to have a good time. If you enjoy that type of thing then strap into your spaceship and get ready for some heavy riffs.

I like how Fear No Shield starts off with baroque-sounding guitar, a calm intro before the barrage of heavy, overdriven riffs that shake your speakers. These massive riffs are backed with big drums and soon the gravelly vocals of Haldor von Hammer. Odin Be Praised is equally excellent, a groovy guitar and bass driven song that is simply a great time. The title track shoves off with heavy, distorted bass and palm muted guitar riffs. The low vocals fit the rumbling riffs and fuzzy bass. The drums are mostly here to keep time in this song, but they are solid and have a great sound. In you like drums don't worry, they take much more of a central role in the excellent They Call Me Nomad, and later on when they open up The Story Of The King Killer. I also like the singer's gravelly voice; the best comparison I can think of is a cross between Neil Fallon of Clutch and Kirk Windstein of Crowbar and Down fame. It can be really difficult to understand him at times, but that is also due in part to the production kind of blending the sounds together. In the end it doesn't really matter most of the time because all the sounds comes together very well. The final track Destiny's Child is excellently done with the band taking advantage of some different tempo changes and vocal styles to create a more subdued version of their sound, but one that still has a lot of power.

At the end of the day this is a very fun yet powerful stoner metal album. While it lacks the depth of, say, Sleep, it makes up for with plenty of memorable guitar leads and rythms. These guys truly believe in what they do and you really feel that sense of sincerity in every song. Anyone who enjoys stoner metal such as Spiritual Beggars, Monster Magnet or Down will enjoy this.