Metal - Proving our Mettle
Forging the sword straight out of the metal god hand books of the early eighties, Metals' debut LP "Proving Our Mettle" takes you through a musical journey back to the days when the battle ground between NWOBHM and Speed Metal was argued and fought with punters in both camps declaring their devotion for their chosen preference.
The album is an independent release, with the sleeve artwork depicting a mythological lone warrior surging up a disappearing bridge in battle. The band is made up of Razor 'Sting' Ray on Bass and vocals, Danny 'Cyborg' Jenkins and Chinch 'The Boss' Chinchella both on lead guitars and smashing the pigskins is Col 'Ice Cold' Collins. These guys give the impression they are a very tight knit group with quick fire riffs, bludgeoning bass and speed percussion all forming overall well rounded rhythms. Lyrically they delve into the world of revolutionary might and wars fought on bloodied battlefields. To advance their work there needs to be a strengthening of the vocals in terms of range and power if they wish to match the might and brutality of their music, in addition there is a feeling the lyrics don't quite rhythmically sync with the percussion and improvements in these areas will be necessary to take the band to the next level.
As far as the material is concerned there are some belters on this debut with Battle Fields Ablaze, The Buccaneer's Revenge and Victory begging the listener to pull out their air guitar and stand one foot mounted atop of stage monitors. The beautiful melodic intro to Fighting for Metal (NB: a kin to Armed and Dangerous by Anthrax) leads into the some tight speed metal riffs and head banging grooves, with a very tasty solo that really does impress. The title track Proving Our Mettle and Trafalgar round out the album and equally both scream straight from the great Iron Maiden with harmony guitars and military drums firing the canons in a trail of destruction.
Overall, as debuts are concerned, there is some good material, which will stand as a platform to advance further and if the rough edges can be refined I'm sure any future work will be given more kudos.
-- Eugene Crabtree
