Today we travel to Greece and discover a metal band dedicated to the old ways. Highly influenced by the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal and recording not only on CD but vinyl and cassette too. They are signed to Inferno Records and have given me a promotional copy of Heavy Metal Poison for review. Let us now indulge in some old school antics.
Witchcurse – The introduction to this album consists of an organ and a spoken tale which introduces the band. The music enters. All ready, the sound to this album has a very old school feel to it. For those that have been able to compare modern music and music from the 80’s (sound engineering wise), then you will understand what I mean by the overall sound in this having that muted sound around the bass and drums. Because of this, it is the guitars that really stand out and envelop that dominating aspect of the music. The vocals are set back somewhere between the guitars and drums. Overall, the sound is very 80’s and earlier style. The guitars create an upbeat, rhythmic pace and thrash out a few leads throughout the second half. The vocals are clean yet in that Metallica ‘Seek and Destroy’ style meets Cinderella. It’s good to know there are those still holding on to that original sound as it would be a shame to lose that in history.
Pay The Price – This next song starts out with some classic metal rhythms and another upbeat pace. The vocals have a quite a raw sound to them. Overall you get the feeling that this is a fun loving band who play purely for the fun of it all and their love for old school metal. It’s a good track and it surely brings me back to my own metal cassette days.
I Don’t Want To Grow Up – The tune throughout this one is definitely taken from Twisted Sister. I can’t shake the “We’re not gonna take it” from my head as I hear this song. So it’s making it very hard to hear this track as it is, standing on its own. It is one thing to be inspired by a band but to blatantly recreate their music is a little harsh. Basically, this track sounds like Twisted Sister ‘We’re not gonna take it” but it isn’t. It is perhaps as the title sounds, a childish replica for a band which is stuck in a period of time that refuses to move onwards.
Red Light – This next one starts out a little more lively and also has its obvious inspirational routes. In this case, it is Iron Maiden. As much as it does sound like Maiden in parts they have seemingly made this one more toward their own, even though there are more than obvious guitar lines which are not their own. This is really cutting a fine line on ‘inspired by’ music to recreating well known tracks. Someone here might like to double check the copy right on the content of this album. Being inspired by bands is all fine and well, but ripping off their tunes and trying to make them their own is not cool.
Heavy Metal Kamikaze – I’m pretty sure the musical parts in here are also derived from Maiden however, this is more appropriate when drawing upon inspiration as it is not such an obvious musical theft. Alas, my job here is to simply review their works, so trying to get past these issues I am having in determining which is truly their own work throughout this album, I can definitely state the lyrics and vocal lines are definitely their own. It’s a good track musically, but I’m not a fan of the vocals. They are a little too raw for my liking. But then again, if your music is going to sound like Iron Maiden and you add such vocals over them, what can you expect?! If you’re going to try and sound like one of the great masters of metal, then you bloody well better back it up in all aspects or prepare to be drilled.
Demolition Derby – All these song titles have such old school metal names. So much so, you can basically fit which band will correspond to which song just by reading the titles. This song is simply terrible as the vocals are way off. The music is fine though. It is like a really bad karaoke session. It’s moments like this I wish I had a hide vocals button in my music player. The guitars are pretty good throughout this album and could be doing so much more without this vocalist. Some people should just stay home and enjoy the music and not form bands and if they are really compelled to, then stick to garages and parties.
Drinkers From Hell – Here we have a gentle guitar rhythm which soon bolsters into another upbeat piece. I am however, disappointed when the vocals appear as the scream is not sounding as perhaps they think it does. The key is always off. The music though, is awesome as always. They make a great garage/party band but with these vocals, they can go no further. The guitars are great and thrash out some nice leads and melodies and this is what really makes this band function. If you could erase all vocal parts, this album would be awesome!
Overcome The Distance – The music is again upbeat and lively with a nice headbanging pace. Then the vocals enter, totally off key with their 80s scream. Sadly, as they continue the entire song is ruined. The guitars continue to effortlessly play their illustrious melodies and leads. I guess one cannot soley blame the band for this ruination. The label is just as much to blame. As if they are the ones creating this album, where are the ones in charge of keeping this band in check and having them redo each piece until it is perfected? Are there no professionals here? One can only question the entire production of both band and label. Somebody is doing something wrong somewhere. It is the vocalist, it is the recording engineer and it is the management within the label. This is not helping the people who are actually doing their job right.
Hard Rockin’ Man in 2010 – Again, we start with some great, catchy music. As the vocals enter my ears want to switch off so I concentrate only on the guitars and drums. They always seem to play some Iron Maiden inspired riffs and melodies and it’s very uplifting and entertaining. They truly have talent. The drums simply hammer along with their basic beats to keep the heads flowing at an even pace. I’d like to hear this band with a different vocalist.
Rock Unite – A classic metal beat brings us into this next track. It has some catchy sing along parts though I doubt anyone actually wants to sing along with this guy, rather they may want to out sing him so he becomes completely dulled out. It’s a real shame, as these guitarists can pull off some mean riffs and leads and have some great talent.
Heavy Metal Poison – Here we have the final song on this album and it too is just as the rest; catchy, classic metal rhythms and beats, ruined by poor vocals. At least this album and song are true to its name and have managed to poison my ears with their terrible attempt at vocals.
Curse The False - Video Clip - This has got to be one of the funniest videos I’ve seen in a long time! It starts with a guy having a restless sleep. A deliveryman knocks at the door. The delivery guy has long hair and after handing over the package goes back downstairs to drink up with his metal mates. The receiver of the package goes into his bedroom and opens it up to find some vinyl records. Amongst these are Slipknot, Korn, Tool and then of course Witchcurse. He pulls out the record and plays it. He is shocked by its sound and blocks his ears and tries to turn it off. Even the wall socket won’t stop it from playing. The band then appears on his TV, then suddenly in his room. They hand him some ‘Heavy Metal Poison’ drink. He then suddenly changes into a metal outfit and starts to tear all his posters off the wall (Evanescence, Linkin Park, Rammstein, Tool). Then he is handed a guitar to play the lead along to. Then a knock at the door, and he hilariously slays the bloke at the door. He then awakens from his slumber to find it all dream, aside from the inverted cross above his bed. The music to the clip is ok and even the vocals seem good enough to absorb throughout it. The entire video is a dodgy home made one but man it is funny!
In essence, the music is good but the vocals need work. The guitarists are being restricted in finding their true worth by an out of key vocalist. A couple of songs were ok, but it soon becomes unbearable. This album would have been awesome if they’d found a more qualified vocalist. Some of the music was a blatant rip off of some well known songs and possibly in breach of copyright. I also found myself questioning their label, Inferno. Why are they not picking up on these things? Why are they not helping their bands to achieve their perfect sound? And if they think they have, well... far out... this is bad. I don’t recommend anyone buy it, but by all means have a listen and see what I am talking about and if you disagree, please tell me below which song and why. They'd be ok as a pub band, but I expect a lot more on a recording. The CD I received is a promotional copy and the CD cover is very old school metal in style as you can see at the top of this review. These guys obviously really love metal music and have wanted to do something about that passion for a long time, but perhaps playing parties is all they should be doing until they find a better vocalist and work on some purely original material.
LINKS
Witchcurse Myspace
Inferno Records
Review by Déa di Morté © 06 July 2011
All pictures courtesy of Witchcurse and Inferno Records