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We've listed albums in order of star rating. Best first.
STRAIN Strain (sampler) (Total Impact)
This is just a taster of four tracks from the self-titled full album which is due to be released in May 2007.
The first thing I noticed was the vocals, which have a passing resemblance to Phil Anselmo. And in fact comparisons with Pantera don’t end there, the music does have some similarities to 'Far Beyond Driven' and 'Great Southern Trendkill', blending thrash with low-end groove. There’s also a lot of stoner metal influence, lots of bluesy guitar and well-placed widdle.
Third track 'That Which I Despise' adds something of Prog about it - remember dance-floor filler 'Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck' from 'Cleansing'? The signs are there that the album won’t be too 'samey', since each track on the sampler is unique.
Is there anything about Strain that would make me pick it out of my collection for a listen? Well it’s a pleasant enough listen but it’s similar to a lot of other stuff, such as Corrosion of Conformity, and even a little like Place Of Skulls. However I think 'That Which I Despise' would swing the balance for me and I’d be happy to hear any of the rest of it.
I am not so keen on the vocals, being a just bit too rough, but otherwise Strain show a lot of promise and I am curious to hear the rest of the album.
Review by Amanda Hyne
HEAVENLY Virus (AFM Records)
My only previous taste of Heavenly was their second album, which had a little too much Helloween influence for my liking.
So I was quite eager to hear what Heavenly sound like a few years and albums down the track.
The verdict?
Solid yet ultimately unspectacular, so many other power metal band around screaming for your money it's getting to be quite tough for any band to deliver that something special.
Virus isn't that album, but it isn't a total loss, a few good songs, a few decent and a couple of filler.
I played this a few times now and it does get better with each listen.
If you're a power metal junkie, then this will deliver you a fix. ***
Review by Graham Boyle
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