Great is the desire for many of us to heed the ways of the old school for all that it still has to teach us even if it has been years since people are more willing than not to believe that there is still greatness to be had if the opportunity is given to the right bands. For all that it has to offer, the old school is anything but dead despite what naysayers and deniers might want to claim, but one does have to admit that greatness doesn’t come around often which is an inherent part of the deal for not everyone can be delivering greatness at every turn. Heavy metal, in particular, is something that grapples with such a concept constantly with bands like Time Rift putting out albums like this that keep the flame alive and give us a more than enough reasons to keep coming back for more.

There are loads of bands that are coming out of the woodwork at a pretty consistent rate that are seeking to deliver heavy metal the likes of which many of us grew up with as the 80s are strongly channeled in many of these works, yet it takes more than a handful of decent riffs and some touches in post-production to make for a work of true heavy metal that one can really fall into. In the case of what’s been crafted within the nine tracks of “In Flight”, I find it hard not to call the work as a whole a real stroke of genius and understanding of the sound that we’re constantly salivating for. A straightforward creation of what classic heavy metal always was and will continue to be so long as Time Rift has anything to say about it, this is euphoric metal of a sort that you simply cannot put down for all that it dares to bring to the table and executes in a spectacular fashion. Intoxicating to the highest degree, “In Flight” makes you feel like you’re doing just that as you’re compelled to fly with Time Rift again and again to deliver an overwhelming sense of euphoria that only heavy metal of this caliber can bring to the table in any form. Without exception and without so much as a shred of compromising the core ideals of what the genre has always been, we bear witness to a fascinating display of mastery and understanding of the craft that simply cannot be overstated. From the soaring vocals to the undeniable hooks to the raw captivation that the record contains in every given ounce of what it throws down, “In Flight” is the heavyweight performance of the sound that many of us have been eagerly waiting for as the years have piled on.

Despite this being but the second album from the act, Time Rift achieves much throughout the absolute entirety of this album. The kind of spectacle that we can only ever dream of when long-established names like Visigoth or Eternal Champion can ever hope to bring to the table, it’s a truly welcome sight to see a relatively new name come before us and not just exceed expectations but plant a firm seed of intoxication that is not easily removed. Pound for pound in every given moment, “In Flight” is the work of heavy metal that is sure to define what the genre can still become in 2025.

LISTEN to “In Flight” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Time Rift on Facebook here.