Romanian Black-Thrash Metal maniacs HELLSTRIKE are back to follow their demo with a debut EP! Out now independently.
Starting us off with well-suited samples for 20 seconds before a bellowing snarl gives a good opening feeling before melodic guitars jump into life atop drum battery, giving an energetic entry for this band whom for many will be a new name. The venomous vocals lie atop the razor-sharp guitar tone in true Speed Metal style while the drums keep things consistent which perhaps is due to them being programmed but due to a touch of reverb an some strong songwriting in the rest of the instruments this doesn’t feel problematic. The lead work is melodious and soars gracefully with the spiteful riffs in true old school style. Keeping the energy throughout the EP, we see a killer range of ideas for songs that have a mature diversity to them already, which hopefully when the band get together a full length will reach their full potential.
As far as this EP goes, is it worth checking out? Definitely! These Romanian maniacs have the fire and passion with the musicianship to back it up. There is naturally room for personality and overall sound to be developed and improved, but that is hardly a surprise for a band that has existed for 2 years, in fact they are already doing a damned fine job at standing out with their fiery riffs and monstrous vocal savagery. With real drums and the bass mixed a bit louder being the main improvements I could suggest, these guys have tons of potential and with these criticisms out of the way, do yourself a favour and crank this blistering EP. Support this young legion of headbangers and their quest for blasphemous destruction!
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