Nemesis have made the LP of their career.

Forever in Metal has taken just under three years to forge, from inception to release, and is a strutting goliath of an album.

Now, I am no metal fan. Apart from a brief Michael Schenker* moment in the early 80s, you could say my knowledge of heavy metal is at best limited and I have little interest in the genre, yet there are plenty out there who worship at that altar.

So all prejudice aside, Forever in Metal is a fine piece of work.

Compare it with the Nems’ 2006 ‘comeback’ LP, The Hills Are Alive With The Sound of Metal, and the new LP sounds infinitely superior – like an older, wiser, leaner, bigger brother.

In short, Nemesis have matured – and matured well.

And so on to the tracks. For those who like to wig out to thundering, fret-shredding craziness, this LP will tick all the boxes. It’s a call to arms for metal fans. Just take the lyrics to the stirring short opener, Into Forever: ‘As I stand at the dawn of a glorious new day with my friends by my side, we will ride’.

Whether you buy into their fantasy of blades, demons and dragons or not – and there’s plenty of each – you can’t knock Nemesis for their self-belief.

From track one on, it’s a rollercoaster ride of full-on pedal to the metal madness, kicking off with Master Commander.

This, I guess, would be a great set-opener live.

I can almost see the fists aloft and smell the sweaty, leather-clad faithful at the Tavern on the LP’s launch night on 6 May.

The Blade follows, Daz Carre’s bass pedal beating out relentlessly, twin guitar solos, screaming vocals – it’s all there.

Still galloping into battle, the catchy The King is Dead… Long Live The King follows, complete with epic coda and funeral bell.

And then the mood shifts.

Two songs, The Traitor and End of The Line, are about the First World War, the first the story of a soldier shot for deserting his post during a storm, the second inspired by the last remaining veterans at last years’ Remembrance Service. Both tracks are thoughtfully handled and have stirring orchestration by guitarist, sometime co-writer and arranger Zak Mousetrappe.

Along with Danny Joyce, it shows how the band have matured and spent a long time honing their craft. It’s epic stuff.

Hopefully some radio airplay and a bit of national exposure would get these tracks heard by a bigger audience because they do deserve to be heard.

Then it’s back to some more chest-beating with Rock Hard Rock True, sure to be stating its claim as a Nems’ live favourite.

Heart of a God has a bit of a Led Zeppelin swagger about it, with a great guitar riff.

The only cover on Forever in Metal is from Joyce favourites American hard rockers Y&T. Hurricane proves what a great guitar player Zak is and how tight the band are sonically, with bassist Brin Harrison anchoring in the bottom end and newbie Daz on drums powering the band on.

The LP finishes with the title track – eight minutes of heavy metal thunder: ‘As the Sons of Steel arrive at the gates of Nevermore,’ proclaims Danny.

A reprise, lyrically, of the opener, more head-banging stuff, as the band crescendo into a full-throttle ending, then some great orchestral sounds, a scream, a blast of thunder and it’s all over.

The LP Forever in Metal feels like a celebration, with Nemesis as the four

horsemen of the apocalypse galloping into the battle.

The question is, are you going to join them?

Because it’s one hell of a ride…

* Former Scorpions/UFO axe man and Rik Mayall lookalike.