STARBLIND - Dying Son
December 23, 2015, 8 years ago
(Pure Steel)
Pure Iron Maiden worship. That’s all there is to say. Any young metal act that takes major influence from Maiden is never a bad thing, but when the material sounds exactly like your heroes, then there is an issue.
Take the first two tracks for instance, “Dying Son” and Blood Red Skies” are dead ringers for “Aces High” and “Where Eagles Dare” respectively. Why listen to this when I can pop in Powerslave? Starblind nail all the Maiden-isms with galloping rhythms, high ranging vocals (and well done by Mike Stark), and dueling lead solos taken from the Smith/Murray playbook. The one song that does stick out though is “Room 101” which has driving bass lines and a great job with the chorus that’s easy to sing along to. There is no doubt that Starblind are capable musicians, but they don’t do enough to differentiate themselves and cultivate their own sound. For these guys to make a leap, they have to branch out and bring something spicier to the proceedings. Anyone who is in dire need of some traditional heavy metal can give this one a go, but there are far better options out there.
