DEADLINE - Cathedral Point

October 14, 2020, 3 years ago

(Bloodkrieg)

Mark Gromen

Rating: 6.5

review heavy metal deadline

DEADLINE - Cathedral Point

Sophomore effort from Pretoria, South African traditional-minded outfit begins with their signature tune, actually just a 96 second, instrumental introduction to the eight other, proper tunes. Energetic compositions, with normal to high-pitched, acquired taste vocals, beginning with fist-pumping anthem, "Hope-N-Pray", which is punctuated by a few well-placed screams, for emphasis. "Grab your Bibles and start to pray that these devils go away." Somewhere between the metal loving ethos of Manowar and the stick poked into the eye irreverence of Alestorm, i.e. mindless fun! That includes the lovable, retro-minded ideology behind "High-Tops & Bullet Belts". Helps it's a rager!

The music, with guitar solos and syncopated electronic drums is a mix of Dragonforce (although nowhere near as frenetic, despite sporting a triple-axe attack) and an 8-bit video game. "Before I Die" is a geographically misplaced example of Teutonic, clickety-clack metal, while the headbanging "Only The Strong Survive" features plenty of wailing guitar. "Clandestine" ends with the following: “With every passing day, more and more people are starting to expose the lies that we're fed. Our people are under educated, over medicated. Our eyes are open. We want the truth We deserve the truth. We need the truth!" Disc closes much the way it began, straight ahead Judas Priest riffage of "The Watchers".

Enjoyable, the best South African metal band I've heard (although the only entry in THAT category), but on a global scale still have a bit to go, in order to compete against the BIG boys. Keep trying!



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