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One
look on the enthusiastic biography of the band makes me start
listening with high expectations. A new Greek sensation combining
the atmosphere of Him with the melodies of Nickelback. A touch of
the power of nu metal and the nostalgia of classical heavy metal.
One should not take it too literally, this is not a sensation but
yet an interesting debut. The brothers Iliopolys are the main
musicians of this Greek band. Melios is a multi-instrumentalist and
Tasos is the singer. Only the place behind the drums was still free
but now taken by Fotis, maybe the drummer of On Thorns I Lay.
After a few times listening we realize that tracks as ‘Free To Heal’
and ‘Heavy Waves’ are steady rockers. It is arena rock mixed with
rather raw vocals. But sometimes the vocals are not that well.
Musically and grunting the band is doing well. Sometimes those heavy
guitars cannot hide that ‘Hell In Heaven’ for instance is just a
commercial tune that could even be performed by Bon Jovi. On the
other hand, we have got power and accelerations in ‘Beneath The
Real’. The quality changes now and then but we also have fine
surprises that makes this record worth checking out. Drums and
guitars come up with some heavy tension in ‘Burning Time’. The
longest track of the album ‘Let myself Flow’ has a strong structure
and the catchy repetitive vocals remind me of The Police. The famous
screams of Sting when he was not retiring in the Rain Forest, you
know. And with ‘Instability’ I can imagine they’re talking about Him
influences. So, not a bad release, but a few things need a change
though. Maybe the next release Melios can give one of his
instruments to Tasos, still doing the fine grunts and let a third
brother come up with the clean vocals. But that is only a
suggestion… |
