Kyle “Gumby” Gunther – vocals
Tony Asta – guitars
Hiran Deraniyagala – guitars
Don Slater – bass guitar
Alex Bent – drums, percussion
1: Scars
This song dives right into a fun and catchy thrash feel, with fun guitar riffs, and drums. The vocals are tight with the high range vocals and the complementary lows. This song is incredibly catchy, I am really enjoying it so far. Everything about this song is enjoyable; from the bell of the ride to the killer guitar solo. This song is a great song to start the album with.
2: Not your slave
This song begins with a brutal mid paced heavy attack to the senses. I am fully enjoying these heavy drums and guitar riffs to introduce us to the first verse. When the tempo picks up I find myself enjoying the song even more. The low vocals are a bit over used and are no longer complementary in my opinion. However not a big deal, I am really digging the guitar riffs to pay attention to the vocals. The pre chorus has a nice mid tempo and double bass roll for a bar repeating until the next verse. This guitar solo is killer, adding in melodic and harmonizing with each other. Coming out of the guitar solo it has a nice driving riff. The song has a cool and heavy thrash feel all the way to the final moments.
3: Absence
I absolutely love the intro to this song, very catchy for a few bars full of head banging excitement. It dives right into a very catchy rhythm at breakneck speed. The verse is a fast paced and catchy section filled with appropriate high and low vocals. The drums are badass with a blistering speed. The song is almost not long enough, everything this song offered was worthy of a 5- 6 minute song. The guitar solo is a power packed punch of driving rhythm. This song is easily an album favorite but my only wish is that it was longer.
4: Spoiled
This song starts out with an intensity level much less than the previous tracks. It does have a cool rock feel to it when the verse kicks in, and the pre chorus is catchy. The chorus is a solid thrash delivery, however I am noticing so many low vocals that I just don’t feel are necessary. The song is already bad ass, so don’t muddy it up with over used low vocals. I really did enjoy this song for the most part, until the low vocals were being used in places I deemed less than ideal.
5: The Climb
This song starts out with a nice little introduction to build this song up for a few bars. When the verse kicks in we witness breakneck speed on the instruments with rapid fire drums. This song transitions into a slow yet brutal breakdown around the halfway point of the song. This is definitely going to be a fan favorite that will be played at live shows. At 3:37 minutes long it not a very long song, nonetheless still a good listen.
6: Blood & Lies
The song starts with an acoustic guitar melody, strumming a few bars until the distorted guitars join in. The verse is not spectacular, and the pre chorus seems to have the right idea, but it’s missing something. It has that heavy feel to it, but is almost missing an ingredient to take it to its full capacity. I think this song has so much potential but the song sounds like average work. The song takes a cliché turn by slowing down and making the vocals sound lower as it gets slower.
7: Bound By Fear
This has a cool introduction with the guitars and drums, I find myself enjoying those drum fills. The first verse has that hyper active feel of thrash mixed with modern metal. The verse is cool but the pre chorus is a little lack luster. The breakdown brings the song back into a brutal status as it pummels you at a lower speed. The song does have a certain amount of catchiness to it, however does not exceed my expectations.
8: Despised
The song fades in with a cool harmonic guitar riff, transitioning into a short but effective solo. The verse is solid, and set up with an even more impressive pre chorus. The following guitar solo is not bad but I feel like the song has a template that was pre-determined for it. It is a catchy song I will say that much, but not my favorite by any means.
9: Shackles
This has a cool driving riff and drum introduction to begin this song, with a fast paced verse following right after. I do like the guitar riffs for this song with all of their driving force and harmonic characteristics the chorus is catchy with a slower pace to it that rolls right into a cool guitar solo. The last minute of the song is not very impressive unfortunately.
10: The Path
This song begins with a very melodic guitar rhythm being played while another guitar does volume swells building the song from the ground up to a mid-paced harmonic guitar solo. When that finishes they hit us with that driving forceful guitar riff that seems to be one of their strengths. The verses are solid without a doubt a catchy solid fast paced riff. The pre chorus is very catchy with some flashy guitar riffing adding some flavor to them. Right around the 3:00 minute mark the song takes on a riff I did not see coming really. It has a rock and roll feel to it that I feel is not needed for this type of song. The formula for the song was tainted by that riff. To make the song less enjoyable it ends pretty abruptly without anything to redeem it.
This album took me through several different emotions while listening to it. At first listen I was excited, it had that wow factor that made me want to listen to more of it. However the more I listened to it, the more I felt like I had the songs on a loop. It felt like they had a template to use, and stuck to it. “Cool guitar intro, fun verse, catchy chorus, unnecessary low vocals, quick guitar solo, and the end. The album was not terrible but it was not mind blowing either. It really left me scratching my head wondering “did I like it” or “didn’t I hear this song already?”
-Badger \m/
http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com
The Metal Breakdown 