As soon as this eponymous debut started spinning I felt
catapulted back to the time of my childhood/youth, a happy time devoted to
hanging out with young bands who were trying to put together what could vaguely
be called songs without giving a damn about fame and fortune. During that same
time we’d also be playing air-guitar to (then) obscure bands such as Armored
Saint, Brocas Helm, Sarcofagus, Overkill, Raven and Omen. From my point of view,
Lethal Saint seems to come out of this very context.
The album “Lethal Saint” sounds very much like a Demo with a
weak production and abundance of clichés, both musically and lyrically. Its
major drawback, however, is the band’s rhythm section – the drumming sounds
mediocre and the riffs are bland as best. The guitar solos sound amateurish and,
from an aesthetic point-of-view, the album’s artwork is terrible too. Meanwhile,
the Rob Halford-ish vocals somewhat manage to raise the album’s standard.
Despite all the album’s blemishes, the band’s manifest
honesty and dedication to this genre of Metal makes “Lethal Saint” endearing and
somehow enjoyable. It’s not an album you would be listening to repeatedly but,
for an old-school Metal aficionado, it could be a fascinating component of a
comprehensive record collection.
