EVIL HUNTER - Evil Hunter
April 18, 2018, 6 years ago
(Fighter)
Hard rock-to-traditional German metal, by way of Spain. The parts of this new entity come from established acts in their homeland, to form a workmanlike, clickety-clack meat & potatoes metallic outfit, with high register vocals. However, on the faster paced material, when Damián Chicano goes guttural (as in the "Surf The Waves" opener), he comes off as a junior Udo Dirkschneider, whereas, the slower/mid-tempo tracks (like riffing hard rocker "Hot Leather") would have made Hardwares era Krokus/Marc Storace proud, both in terms of music and lyrics. It is the longest cut, the only one to exceed five minutes.
Their signature tune, "Evil Hunter" takes a grittier guitar tone, but very uplifting vocal. Portions of "Heartbeat" recall Riot's "Johnny's Back" (off Thundersteel). The acoustic guitar and keyboard ballad "By Your Side" is something from a bygone past that should have stayed in yesteryear. Thankfully, it's the lone such misstep. The disc closes with another rapid, snare drum smasher called "Open Up Your Eyes". Nothing earth shattering original, just a band with (an obvious) nod to their heroes, hoping to (one day) walk a similar journey. Solid footing for the initial step...
