This is a very listenable cd from the multi-talented Dean Wallace. He sings, plays a mean guitar and he plays bass and drums pretty well too.
The opening track, ‘Get Away From My Home’, sets the tone. It’s well made heavy rock/metal, with gritty vocals, reminiscent of James Hetfield, a catchy riff and a well-played solo. Next up, ‘Our Only Choice’ has a classic riff and exciting solo. There’s good drumming and the vocals are well delivered. Track 3, ‘The New Slavery’ hits the ground running with a choppy guitar riff. The guitar sound on this track (and throughout the cd) is really clear and well produced by Remy and Germain Boyer, who seemed to have written all the tracks as well. There’s a quickening of the pace mid-track, leading to a very good guitar solo.
‘I’m Not a Hero’ is slightly slower with some punchy riffing in the chorus sections. ‘It’s My Turn’ has some lively drumming, gritty vocals and some well-timed tempo changes in the riffs and the customary well-played solo, which leaps out of the speakers at you. A lovely, powerful riff starts ‘The Ferryman Of Souls’, yet another enjoyable and exciting track on this cd. There’s hints of Metallica here as in some of the other tracks, especially in the Hetfield-esque vocals. ’My Eternal Why’ slows things down for a while with a nice guitar melody intro., a fine vocal performance and soaring guitar solo.
Proceedings get very heavy with the juggernaut that is ‘Flying Coffin’, probably the heaviest track of the cd. Hammer-down drumming and classic heavy riffing it’s brutal and exciting! The fast paced rocker ‘Headshot’ has a clever tempo change leading to another bit of skilled fretwork. ‘Metal Family’ is the final track. Yet another catchy and chunky guitar riff is to be found here. The mid-section has a good bass line, followed by a stop, start, jerky riff and more impressive soloing. This is a fine way to close the cd out.
This is one of the best CDs I have reviewed for SonicAbuse so far. Metal Family is a classic heavy metal album. Really enjoyable and highly recommended.
Review by Chris Greenwood
