Those with their finger on the pulse in the last few years would know all about Finland’s Lord Fist, they are an epic traditional metal band for which this is their first full length album. Having been party to their demo and EP, I kind of know what to expect here, but I also want to hear some progress.
On the plus side, the songs remain in tune with the likes of Manilla Road, a lot of this is down to the monotone vocal style of course, but there are flashes of musical similarities and further influence from the Swedish and British metal scenes of the early 80’s. As the release plays through, the songs improve, the opener ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’ is fast, but I find it a touch flat. ‘River’s End’ is the milestone, this is where we pick up the greater influences. Recent comparisons would be to the UK’s Dark Forest, especially their debut album for epic style, rhythm and feel during the track and in fact the album. However, the resurfacing of their demo track ‘Master of the Witches’ shows that they had their craft nailed from the beginning, a nice result.
The title track ‘Green Eyleen’ is really cool, ‘Road Ravens’ also has some nice maiden-esque riffs along the way which completes the recording perfectly with these two aforementioned tracks standing out above the others on the album. But come on, how many more acronyms do you really need, as apparently this is The New Wave of Great Heavy Metal! Ha.
I love the music, but the vocals are an acquired taste as they are a little dull during the lower register songs. I feel some of the guitars, especially when exposed on their own, have quality issues. Raw is good, but this isn’t raw in the desired cult way of late, it sounds sloppy in places, rushed with notes missed. Yet in the same breath, wow, there are some great guitar moments…there is certainly an inconsistent approach or rather an inconsistent sound in the recording.
Followers of this scene will enjoy this, the songs work, the arrangements have plenty of positive pointers. But, the frustrating point is that I feel these songs could have been represented much more positively with a more vibrant recording and mastering process which is the only thing that prevents me from rating higher.
(7.5/10 Paul Maddison)
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