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Pure metal
Sanctorum - Ashes Of Redemption
I missed out on Sanctorums’ debut CD so I have never heard of them before so I wasn't really quite sure what to expect, though of course the name screams death metal. However it actually isn't really death metal at all. It's a mix of thrash and melodic modern metal with great old school solos. First of all I must say that Dave Chang has managed to give these guys a very decent sound. Too often I play stuff and the crappy sound annoys the hell out of me and already I can't wait for it to end.
So at least in that sense, Sanctorums’ CD fits the bill nicely. So what do these guys sound like then? Their sound is quite hard to pin down. The guitar sound is very clean and reasonably melodic. By the end of the first song I am glad that the band is actually a professional outfit and not a mickey mouse affair. They sound tight and thrashy without being brutal and they have decent, groovy sped up headbangy riffs with both gruff and slightly melodic vocals. Actually the melodic voice is not so hot and needs a lot of work to sound better. If you are going to do the melodic voice thing, you should try to do it with conviction and I'm not sure they quite cut it. The second track ‘Sorrow of Man’ is listed as a "playlist" track so perhaps should be their catchiest song and to be fair it got my head and foot tapping! It has cool clean riffs with melody and bounce and to be fair I can't find too much wrong with it. Even the clean melodic voice at the end is reasonable and much better than the opener. Must mention the lead-work which is really great and clean. Fluid and melodic too and very enjoyable, which helps the band to sound that much better.
The third song ‘Against us All’ comes in and I'm really beginning to like this CD. It's catchy galloping rhythms sound very cool and the gang vocals in the chorus are quite a nice touch too and when we finally reach the solo, the song has turned into a hammering monster of a tune followed by a pounding riff that will get heads seriously banging hard in alive setting. As song by song drifts by, you keep waiting for a duff one without cool riffs or solos but it never really turns up. There are great riffs and especially superb solos to enjoy in each song. ‘Call to Arms’ is a great thrash metal anthem with it's unity message for metalheads, though of course it's been done before, but when the song is catchy it makes you feel pretty good. What I like about the band is that they don't try to be over brutal or aggressive but instead try to impress us with their killer song writing and riff construction.
I was not really expecting much of this I must admit and to be perfectly honest this CD has come and knocked me for 6 at the moment. The band has so much confidence in their own ability to pen hummable, cool riffs and never at the expense of melody either. Their instrumental skills are honourable and the sound as I mentioned earlier lifts them to levels that can leave them competing with the big boys. The lead guitar playing is incendiary and the good thing is the band sounds as fresh as a daisy. I can't really pinpoint a major influence on the band, not to say that they are totally original, but they have this knack of entertaining the metal listener with their excellent riffs and memorable tunes. Right now I am not sure how they can improve on this CD to be honest but I guess there is always the need to write catchier tunes and sort out the clean vocals to make them more confident. Sanctorum are one of the best bands from the UK that I've heard recently, and eclipses many bands with far greater profiles. Welcome to big league guys!
© Pirage Forsi………………Rating **** (4.0/5.0)
