Zaxas

About two years ago my brother and I were paroosing through the 99 cent dump-in at the record shop, looking either for a hidden gem or for some piece of shit with a bad name for us to laugh at. We found the latter, or so we thought. I bought this as a joke for a dollar, and needless to say I got $15 easy worth of metal.

What we have here is a piece of unadulterated heavy metal: no power, thrash, or anything else. The best way to describe this would be to compare it to Metal Church's 90's releases, specifically 1994's Hanging in the Balance. It is mostly slower to mid-paced with the occasional more aggressive section thrown in. The riffs on this record are positively crushing, far superior to the uninspired, forgettable sort that you would expect upon picking up a random piece of 90's metal (i.e. Belladonna, early Gamma Ray). That said, I have no doubt that had this album not sadly fallen into obscurity, it could have easily held its own and obtained the title of "classic."

Next, the song writing is impeccable. Already being centered around strong riffage, the tracks flow from section to section flawlessly. In other words, each verse and each chorus sounds like it actually belongs in that song, and fits beautifully. In that vein, you don't have any of the "awesome chorus, but shitty verse" issues that befall many contemporary power metal bands such as Edguy. Thus, each track on here is solid and worth hearing. The album is good from beginning to end -- this isn't just a good EP.

As for the musicianship, the vocals lie somewhere between those of Ronnie James Dio and Mike Howe. However, on that note, the man can sing. He doesn't bullshit his screeching like so many others have attempted doing (like so many countless glam bands). As a drummer, I can say that the drummer on this album is well above average. He doesn't miss a beat, and is fairly creative with his beats and fills so as to keep the whole thing moving and not let it sag behind.

My final judgment: As an aficianado of straight forward, no-fringes heavy metal, this album is well worth tracking down. Extreme metal enthusiasts may not be as wowed as I was, but fuck, it was worth the dollar. Rightfully, this should be listened to alongside those 90s Metal Church albums I previously mentioned. A lost classic.

Standouts: Revolving Door, Images of Princes

I picked this up in the interest of exploring the bands that fell by the wayside over the course of metal's history. Sometimes you unearth a lost gem, sometimes you find a big old rock of fool's gold. This album leans more to the latter.

For an American band to put out a traditional leaning power metal band in 1995 in itself is notable. These guys most assuredly didn't think they'd be playing Madison Square Garden given the rampant grunge and alternative rock scene, and bands in the Pantera vein being the face of the metal scene for the time.

This album doesn't particularly suck, but is by no means essential. The songs aren't really all that great, and the production on the guitars sounds more like Fu Manchu than Forbidden. The vocals range from a poor man's Ray Alder to a poor man's Sebastian Bach. The musicianship is respectable, if not astounding.

It's hard to really figure out if I like this band or not. It's certainly a bold statement for 1995 in American metal, sort of like a Metal Church without the balls. It's unique for what it is when it was, but stacked up against any of the heavyweights, it gets stomped on unmercifully. The price was good at $3, but don't blow the dust off the ol' checkbook for this one.