For
their fifteen years long existence SPELLBOUND twice part ways.
The usual difficulties of the musicianship had made the guitar player and vocalist David Maier the
idea bearer of the band. The style of the band has a significant growth
during the years, but the unstable line up continues to deprive them from
serious label. More than an year after the last stabilization of
the line up, and whole 8 years after their previous album, the Germans
present us their new full length work.
The
four thrashers are an idea more melodic and rather more precise in their
playing. The smashing thrash riffs open place for rather melodic heavy
metal solos which sometimes are acoustic. The catching first performance
leaves behind the sense of strong influences from TESTAMENT and
a little bit from MEGADETH. The vocal
harmonies also are close to these of Chuck Billy which emphasize
the similarities. Rarely these
days the metal bands succeed to make a metal ballad but SPELLBOUND indeed succeeded to do it in „Dying In The Dirt“. However immediately could be
found the shadow of TESTAMENT’s „Agony“. Some similarities to the early METALLICA could also be caught.
SPELLBOUND made an
exceptionally precise and pleasant for listening album. They grow a lot
with „Nothing But The Truth“. Each song has
its history and forges the harmonies of the album. The bright similarities to TESTAMENT take a bit from the authenticity of the Germans but
they also emphasize the high standards the band had reached. The qualities
of SPELLBOUND set the band close to the moment when it
will become famous for wider audience.
