Eyes of Blue Light

I came across this band in an odd way, as I discovered this was the new band of former Wastoid axeman Joe Johnson, and man, I loved Wastoid. Glad to see at least one person who played on "We Came to Rock" is still cranking out good tunes. Necropanther are a Melodeath band with a definite streak of Thrash and a kick of guitar hero flash in the lead playing. Despite the band name, this album is all about Dune, and the sci-fi lyrical content adds a level of depth to this release. Necropanther are nothing revolutionary, but they have a good sound and the performances are all good and tight. The songs are riff-oriented and have a lot of melody and energy, and they keep your air-guitar hand in shape. The vocals are a rather one-dimensional rasp that doesn’t really hurt the music, but also do not elevate it in any way. Overall this is a fast, fun album that shows real potential.