Lovely
Dirk Funk | Huntington Beach, Ca USA | 05/04/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Creative, Dark, Powerful, Passionate...Listen, you will like"
Pure metal
t-diggs | Brooklyn, NY USA | 05/02/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I have owned this CD since it arrived one earth in the early 90's. I pretty much liked anything I heard on Revelation Records from that time period, but I had no idea what I was getting into when I picked this one up. I see some reviews stating that this is post-hardcore, or where hardcore meets metal. I have to say, this is nothing but pure metal. There is no hardcore or punk in any of these tracks. The members may have been in various hardcore bands at one point, but this is a totally different beast.
The music rides the rails between Powerslave era Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne. The guitarist is pretty amazing and isnt afraid to flex his musical chops, throwing little flourishes and solos all over the track. The bassist is very good and locks in with the drummer to bring some great heavy moments to the forefront. And Richie....Richie sings with a greater vocal range then either Axl Rose or Robert Plant. Man, he can wail. He can be at once gruff and angry and then let out a piercing falsetto that would make many an early power metal band jealous.
Classic tracks on this album are of course the opener "Underlord" with its dark imagery (very cheesy, but if you cant laugh, than you should look elsewhere) "Powered", and the one-two punch closers "As It Were" with its awesome groove, and "Dare Me" with more cheesy lyrics.
So, all in all, great record, amazing riffs, awesome vocals, very cheesy lyrics, but fun too, and they fit the music very well. I sometimes wonder if he was being serious on some of this material, as they definitely seem to have gotten more serious with later releases. And if you like this stuff, quickly go pick up the Creepy Eepy EP with 4 more great songs on it. "I'll Be Damned" and "The Other" are easily two of their best."
Good Album.
Steve D | Connecticut | 08/15/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"It really should be four and a half but four stars wouldn't do it justice. The production isn't up to par with the next three releases but it doesn't stop the album from being good. Splinters is a great song and Apalindrome has an interesting Tribal feel to it. Not much else to say about it. Buy it if you like Post-Hardcore meets Classic Metal."