RE-ARMED – “WORLDWIDE HYPNOTIZE”
MASSACRE (2012)
Ever since Amorphis first graced us with their presence back in
1990, Finland witnessed a slow but steady growth in its number of Heavy
Metal bands, to the point that our beloved music is now in terms of
popularity to the Finns what Lady Gaga is to the rest of the world!
Throughout this process, the ‘land of the thousand lakes’ has enjoyed
its own quite distinctive sound and scene so it is very strange to
witness a new band such as Re-Armed looking towards neighbouring Sweden
for inspiration. Anyhow, the fact remains that Re-Armed are about to
release their debut album “Worldwide Hypnotize” through Massacre Records
and what remains to be established is what this nine track album has to
offer to Metalheads like you and me.
Even though “Worldwide Hypnotize” is the band’s debut release one
cannot fail but notice quite early on in the listening process how well
structured the nine compositions on offer are and how tight this quintet
comes across– and both facts make absolute sense when you know that
these lads have been pounding their instruments for the last decade or
so. Their approach to Metal is hardly what one might call innovative,
however they have a very good understanding of how to blend together all
modern Thrash groovy riffs, melodic leads and screamo/growling vocals
that are the main ingredients that characterise both their style and
sound. True, there are moments when influences from legends such as Dark
Tranquillity and Napalm Death are more than evident and you might also
be excused in thinking that what the band presents us with is slightly
limited in terms of variety but what is also very true is that each and
every performance is the product of both passion and honesty – something
that is very hard to find in most young bands these days.
“Natural Backlash” is very fitting for the role of opening track, as
I find its dynamism and straight-forwardness representative of what
this album has to offer. “Save Yourself” is one of the stand-out tracks,
mainly due to a mean head-banging riff, and paves the way for the
groovy-sounding Dark Tranquillity-influenced “Feardrops” which I found
to be quite enjoyable. The average riffs of the three and a half minute
“Hoax” may not have made a massive impression on me but the same cannot
be said for both the same-titled “Worldwide Hypnotize” and “Deathtrap” –
the former being the closest this band came to sounding like Napalm
Death while the latter is the best song of the album, with its crushing
Thrash riffs, intricate solos and Paradise Lost sounding melodies on its
dead catchy refrain. More straight forward groovy riffs can be found in
“The Bridge That Leads Nowhere” and “King Authority (Honour To Serve)”
while “Trance”, the second composition to surpass the four minute mark,
finds the band in a slightly more ‘experimental’ spirit with its
numerous rhythmical changes that do not always work to the song’s
benefit.
As I mentioned earlier in my review, “Worldwide Hypnotize” is not
the type of release that will impress many with technicality or the
level of song- writing, but does that really make it a bad album?
Certainly not! This band is armed (pun definitely intended) with a
substantial arsenal of head-banging riffs and catchy melodies that will
entertain you both during an intense workout at your local gym or while
sharing a few pints with your mates in your local boozer, whichever way
you are inclined. Onwards and upwards, lads!
John Stefanis
Rating: ***1/2 (3.5/5.0)
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RE-ARMED – “WORLDWIDE HYPNOTIZE”
by
Yiannis Stefanis
on Mon 20 Feb 2012 20:18 GMT | Permanent Link
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