The Ritual has Begun

The Ritual has Begun is the debut album from the oddly named Show N Tell, a band out of Phoenix, Arizona, that plays fast, melodic heavy metal with a definite US metal vibe. Their press photo shows them dressed like they were plucked from 1985 with leather vests, chains, and studs and that lines up with their sound, which features plenty of screaming guitars and the wild, air raid siren vocals of singer David Rodriguez. He sounds like he's at the edge (and sometimes beyond) of his limit, sort of like Exciter's Dan Beehler back in the day, so a lot of The Ritual has Begun makes me think of what Riot would have sounded like with Beehler at the mic. There are plenty of solid, air guitar-worthy cuts like "Rip n Tear" and "I'm Alive," and Show N Tell break out some sweet twin guitar harmonies on the closer "The Second Death," which evokes early Iron Maiden. I'd like to hear Rodriguez tame the wildness a bit on the next release but overall, The Ritual has Begun is a rollicking heavy metal affair sure to please fans of '80s traditional and even speed metal.