Hailing from Toronto these warriors strike their second album onto the metal
world. If you are into slow, sludgy and doomy stuff, you can stop reading
immediately. If you like tempi in the vein of Dragonforce you should carry on
reading. The band combines the power metal and the fast guitar soli of
Dragonforce with death metal elements. The harsh vocals added are the main
source for these death metal influences.
Like many other bands they combine clean singing with harsh vocals and this on a
kind of 50/50 base. I have to say that the clean singing isn't special on the
other hand is the aggressive harsh singing o.k. After the first 2 tracks I was
rather enthusiastic, but after the entire 49 minutes I wasn't that overwhelmed
anymore. The main reason for that is because all the songs have the same high
tempo and the songs are all a bit the same. No variation. It is the same feeling
I get from a Dragonforce album, it becomes too much after a while.
The second reason for me is the clean singing. The voice isn't just interesting
enough and after a while it bores me. These two negative points don't make it a
bad album, just not the hammer it could have been. The musicianship of the
members is outstanding, especially the guitar parts are a feast for the ears,
especially for Dragonforce lovers. If you are a guitar player, you should try to
follow them without your fingers starting to bleed. Drummer Cory Hofing tortures
his drums like an animal; reaches high beats per minute while still staying very tight. A
live performance must be a kind of marathon for him.
If you like ultra fast power metal and don't mind harsh vocals you should at
least listen to this band. For those who like a combination of Dragonforce and
Children of Bodom.
