This is the second CD by the Bay Area veterans. They have gained a lot of experience, supporting the likes of Metallica, Exodus and Death Angel, in their time. This shows, in this well crafted, heavy metal cd.
‘Dance With The Devil’, kicks things off, literally. There’s a good chunky riff, lively drumming and a good vocal range displayed by Torre Carstensen. I really liked the long, well executed solo, showing good mastery of the fretboard, either by founder member Will Storkson or Andy Wayne. ‘My Misery’ comes next. Another classy metal riff, with some nice guitar harmonies and some swapping of wild solos, confident vocals and some good tempo changes. ‘Hollow’ is another classy piece of metal. There’s some rhythmic drumming by Adam McKibben, solid bass playing, great chunky riffs and powerful singing. There’s an atmospheric tempo change mid track, but the wild solos are missing here! Next up is ‘Greed’. Lively drumming compliments the staccato riff and there’s some more impressive fretwork in the solo. Amongst the metal mayhem, there’s a fair bit of harmony too. Track 5 is called ‘Crash’. There’s a gritty, meaningful vocal performance and a slower, moodier guitar riff. There’s a good interchange of solos by Storkson and Wayne.
‘The Phoenix’ has a jerky, hard hitting riff, which grabs your attention. There’s a moody menace in the track. Yet another enjoyable track. There’s a good rumbling bass part by Yas Kajita. Nice sustain / feedback to finish the track. A more flowing riff gets ‘Behind Enemy Lines’ underway. Again, there’s some harmony present, amongst the heaviness, with another different pace to the music. ‘Gods of Perpetual Destruction’ is a more basic piece of metal, with some hammer down drumming. It’s not a happy track and “no one gets out alive” sings Carstensen. The track speeds up, leading to some well played harmony guitar parts and solos. ‘Walk Away’ has a simple but effective riff, with lively drumming and an air of desperation in the vocals. ‘Hell or High Water’ ups the tempo again. There’s yet another catchy riff, more good harmony parts, impressive vocals and drumming, well supported by solid bass playing.
This is a really good heavy metal CD. It has good musicianship and singing. It’s an exciting album by a talented band. Well recommended.
By Chris Greenwood
