Upon first listen, it may be difficult to distinguish whether the guitar driven machismo found on the 10 tracks of Zero Down’s Good Times … at the Gates of Hell is presented as either A) true, honest, good time rock ‘n’ roll, or B) tongue-in-cheek joke rock played by hipsters with ironic facial hair. After more than a handful of listens, a quick glance at the band’s promo photos and a long stare at the album’s cover art (snakes, cannons, cowboys, hell yes!), it’s safe to say that Zero Down is the real deal: five average, blue collar looking dudes playing English-Invasion-by-way-of-Motley-Crue revival metal that’s technically proficient enough to please the head bangers and catchy enough to bring in the hair band-loving middle-aged groupies. Rocking like the Monster of Metal mix tape blaring from the headphones of the bully who beat you up in middle school, Zero Down is an everyman’s Iron Maiden, writing fist pumping anthems centered around such topics as Firebirds, booze and well … good times. Vocalist Mark Hawkinson channels a young Bruce Dickinson through his high pitched falsetto screams, the perfect complement to the galloping guitar riffs on stand out tracks “Die Wasted” and the albums title track. Being stuck in 1982 never sounded so great.

Standout tracks: “Die Wasted,” “Good Times … at the Gates of Hell”