Lady beast are a heavy metal act in the purest sense, all blistering riffs, powerful, melodically memorable vocals and pure driving rhythmic fury. Their debut release was a self-financed effort that appeared on vinyl in 2009 (a format which surely remains the best way to hear traditional metal) and now, thanks to the fine folk at Inferno Records, the record has gained a rerelease on CD and cassette allowing lady beast to ravage a whole new audience.
Our love for inferno is something that has surely become clear over the various reviews we have published – a label dedicated to releasing only the most passionate and blistering of traditional heavy metal they have yet to let us down and their ear for a good tune remains true in their signing of lady beast. One look at the epic artwork tells you much of what you need to know about the band – this is metal with a healthy dose of fantasy, drawing from the same realm of inspiration as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest (whom they successfully cover on the bonus track), early Queensryche and Doro – and if you dig wild riffs, brilliantly excessive vocals and hearty solos then lady beast are an essential band to check out.
Operating closer to the thrash end of the trad-metal spectrum, Lady Beast may emphasise melody but the furious riffs are as heavy as hell and opening track ‘Lady Beast’ with its storming galloping rhythm is a fine introduction to the band as you not only get a sinus-clearing dose of the band’s vital riffing but also a first taste of Deborah Levine’s excellent vocals. Hard edged and with a fine range, Deborah’s main talent lies in her ability to nail powerful melodic lines whilst simultaneously maintaining the edge and grit that is a pre-requisite in heavy metal and whilst she may be an unsung hero at the moment, with a voice like this it is only a matter of time before she’s widely recognised as a metal singer of force and power. With the first track dispatched in under three minutes you’re into ‘metal rules’ (and seriously, how could you not love a song with a title like that?) before you even know it and the duelling guitars of Tommy Kinnett (lead) and Chris Tritschler (rhythm) are washing over you in a molten wave, Tommy’s blazing solo a particular pleasure to behold. Lyrically it’s a true metal anthem with the immortal opening lines “pump my fist, and bang my head ‘till it falls off my neck. The metal pulses through my veins” pumped out over a seismic backing track that recalls ‘kill ‘em all’ era Metallica. ‘Lost boys’ gives fine drummer Adam Ramage plenty to do and his partner in crime, Greg Colaizzi (bass) matches him every step of the way as they flail at their instruments with both precision and speed. ‘Armor’ is Deborah’s show as it is her voice that magnetically draws the listener in with her tale of dark magic and mythical battles and as tommy busts out another solo it is clear that Lady Beast have the skill, the song-writing nous and the passion to succeed.
With the band firing through their tracks at breakneck speed, it seems like no time at all and you’re already on the fifth track, ‘birthrite’, a chugging monster of a track with the sort of fists in the air chorus that you can imagine taking a stadium by storm. ‘When desire is stronger than fear’, with its harmonised guitars harks back to those cherished vintage Maiden records whilst lyrically it captures the same lascivious feel of metal classics like ‘poison’ and when Deborah sings “my fire’s hot as the sun” you can believe it. ‘Hot pursuit’ is pure driving metal, the kind of song you can imagine scoring an open-topped ride across America’s desert highways and then the album closes on the furious ‘go for the bait’, a scything, vital blast of pure leather-clad metal that leaves you breathless. One final track remains, a brutal cover of Priest’s ‘ram it down’, a track that the band and, most memorably Deborah, are more than equal to the task of delivering with a fire and fury that the Priest themselves would doubtlessly approve – it is, perhaps, most noteworthy that, if anything, this excellently delivered cover is comprehensively overshadowed by the band’s own majestic compositions , a fact that says much about the skill and power of Lady Beast’s material.
If you love metal, you love Lady Beast. This is a band who have it all – the fiery production (the album was expertly recorded and mixed by Dave Watson) which renders the guitars with a scythe-like clarity, the drums and bass with the power of rolling thunder and the vocals right at the heart of the mix where they firmly belong; the passionate, fantastic (in the true sense of the word) songs; stunning musicality and even nigh-on perfect artwork (sadly not credited) – and with the album now readily available via the mighty Inferno records there is no excuse at all not to track down a copy instantly. If you are one of those who laments the fact there are no headliners rising through the metal scene to challenge the old-guard, check out Lady Beast, they have headline quality oozing out of every note and this self-titled debut is an absolute metal treasure from start to finish.
