I remember really being blown away by this band's third album, Under the Southern Light, back in 2024. I was keen to listen to this, but I have to say it is not really grabbing me as well. This is a band all about old-school headbanging like it was 1985, with the expected influences from Priest, Riot, Accept, etc. This album does not diverge stylistically from their last one, it's just not as good.
Part of the problem is the production, which is just bad. The mix crams everything together in a big mushy pile, losing the riffs in the other instruments, and so the songs just sound more shapeless and have less energy. Vocalist/Guitarist Lex Thunder sounds much worse this time, as instead of the badass, rough-edged approach last time out, we get a lot of screeching that sometimes sounds definitely off-key. Again, I could chalk that up to a bad recording job, but it's hard to tell, as they have him absolutely buried in reverb.
There are some good riffs and songs on here, and it's not like this is no fun at all, but compared to the razor-edged killing last time out, this is a cacophonous waste of talent and ability. I had to go back and play Southern Light again to reassure myself I'm not crazy, and yeah, there's really no comparison.
