“Speed Kills”! The motto often mentioned by this band, the music of course matches this statement. Solicitor are an American band (Seattle) and have made a name for themselves in the underground scene over recent times. I was supposed to be seeing them live last week in Germany, but some virus had other plans! I first found this band with the association of the lead singer Amy Lee Carlson, who sang for Substratum and was/is joined by fellow Substratum/Solicitor guitarist Matt Vogan.
Opening tune ‘Blood Revelations’ has speed, but it is more (IMO) a US power metal stance similar to Helstar, and Chastain. The thunder rolls out and even after 5 minutes, you are still gripped. The opening riff to ‘Betrayer’ has a typical NWoBHM riff, you know, that Hammeron…well following this I delve into my mind and come up with Tysondog similarities. However, enough of that, the point it, there is heritage and Solicitor have it “down” in their own format. The varied vocal range of Carlson is awesome. By being both vibrant and having a great level of control both in the upper and lower register, there is a real quality sense of power. ‘The Red Queen’ starts way down low, slower, you know it is building to something faster, it’s just a matter of when? Thus, when the track ignites, you are off again into a cool heavy metal workout with the aforementioned Chastain, Hellion and NWoBHM influence. I love the style of ‘Leathür Streets’, energetic, it sounds classic US metal in abundance. The live wire riffing I like, maybe a reference to a certain sunset strip band’s debut in one of the sections I have thrown in here including the debut label, but really, this works out great. You get the formula now, ‘Night Vision’ slow metal, fast metal, its metal. ‘Terminal Force’ has a powerful starting assault, but the epic intro winner comes with ‘Spectres of War’. This is where I understand the speed metal tag; this is the killer one on the album for me. Closing with ‘Grip of the Fist’, a rousing speed attack once more. Upon reflection, the track order is pure perfection. You have your attention grabbed at the start, you maintain your interest and find a few difference influences, then you beg for more by the end of the album when the tempo kick your ass back to the ground.
As you continue through the album, you get a great sense of joy and consistency. The formula works and the music is fast and delightfully heavy. The vocals are genuine and have character, the artwork is as metal as you can get. Similar to their demo, they have incorporated images of the band into the presentation. Overall, I love this album, it is not game changing, but its stellar US metal. I do hope that we see them overseas in the future when the madness ends. This music will be very vibrant live.
(8/10 Paul Maddison)
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