For those who have been able to listen to and follow the band in the past, this release has better songwriting, better distortion, and better overall production.
Everything about this release screams "major label", but that just isn't the case. Vocalist/guitarist TJ Berry and his bandmates continue to forge ahead, building a club
following and chiefly financing their own releases. Why this remains to be the case is a bit of a mystery, but this disc certainly has the potential to change all of that.
Berry's vocals are edged and attacking, with Chuck Billy-like attributes, as well as sprinkles of high-end Warrel Dane at times. The band prides itself in churning and
ripping guitars, and its driving rhythm section. There are subtle Maiden influences, and when acoustic work in incorporated some of Iced Earth's mood pieces are
brought to mind. In all, this is simply solid, no-nonsense U.S. power metal. A treat and pleasure to listen to, and definitely made to be cranked in the corner!
The
rip-rolling "Betrayal of the Masses" bludgeons from the onset, and another treat is served up later in the form of "Underneath", with its spine-twisting chorus.
A killing-machine rhythm moves through "Form", with each of "Lost", "Awaken", the pounding "Blood on the Bricks",
and the slow-churner "Into the Black" being good as well.
"Damaged" has a strutting flow to it, and an absolutely yearning and powerful chorus. The disc closes with
the "Where Darkness is Divine" Trilogy, and
from it "The Otherside" is particularly strong, while "Face Your Fate (The Calling) starts out acoustic before giving way to a pulsing, thick mainframe.
The disc should
be formerly released sometime this month, and it will be carried through www.moltenmetalusa.com.
TRACK LIST: Betrayal of the Masses/Form/Damaged/The Suffering/Into the Black/Blood on the Bricks/Awaken/Lost/Wicked From the Womb/Underneath/
[Where Darkness is Divine (Trilogy)] - ...As Twilight Descends/The Otherside/Face Your Fate (The Calling)
The Otherside--RealAudio