Do these Spanish heavy-metallers take us “back to the beginning” of a genre, or do they fall short and leave us all behind?

1st album by this spanish band led by Vicente J. Payá from UNBOUNDED TERROR/ GOLGOTHA that plays a classic Heavy Metal for lovers of 80’s stuff in the vein of OZZY OSBOURNE, JUDAS PRIEST, SCORPIONS, DIO, SAXON, IRON MAIDEN

REVIEW

The album starts off with Fighters, a steady, fist pumping metal anthem. Right off the bat we’re hit in the face with crunchy guitars and pinch harmonics followed by vocals that are eerily similar to Zakk Wylde… on first listen I found myself thinking this kinda sounds like Black Label Society… Not a bad song by any means but not much going on and definitely nothing new. Somewhat difficult to make out the lyrics. A decent way to open an album and what I imagine to be an ok sing along song at a live show.

Next up we have But Not Me. Remember how I compared the opener to BLS? Well this sounds even more like them. I’m not saying it’s bad, but nothing new or revolutionary here yet again. A little over midway we are given a decent guitar solo. It’s a pretty harmless song, much like the opener.

Fake. I like the riff. Sounds like some cowbell coming in. More of the same vocals. Not much different than the first 2 songs until we get towards the end of the song and there is a little break in music with what sounds like a news broadcast playing followed by a guitar solo. I’m noticing a trend with the vocals and the lyrics…very hard to make out what is being sung.

Alright there is finally a little bit of a change in tempo going on in Evil Trail! The vocals stay the same but if you listen beyond the first minute, the music is a bit faster and more frenzied through parts of this song instead of the steady droning of the first 3. And we also get a bit of emotion put into the vocals that was lacking in the others. Still not sure what he’s saying or singing about.

Fifth song, Always, starts out reminiscent of some 90s alt-rock or grunge… it may just be me but I’m hearing some Nirvana in that opening riff. A little more of the droning on vocals and kinda boring. Still no standout song.

Here we go. The Farewell Song. One of the best songs of the album. There’s a nice riff to start us out and some emotional vocals to break free from the helicopter drone of the others. And for the first time I can finally make out some lyrics. Killer break and guitar solo. Great ending. Best song so far.

The Power of Music. Uhh back to more generic droning vocals and more of the same ole same. After The farewell song, I was hoping things would pick up but I was wrong. I honestly can’t tell much of a difference between this and the others. At best this song is skippable.

I Don’t Care. Is this the song title or their feeling towards the music? Nothing to say that hasn’t been said.

War…or is it Evil Trail…or maybe The Power of Music? At this point they all sound the same and you could put any on and I wouldn’t know the difference.

There may be something a little bit different here with I Wanna Go Out. A little bit more thrashy music and sped up singing…until the chorus. Could have been a good song if they’d have kept up the energy through the whole song.

Best song of the album right here to end jt. And guess what…it’s not an original. Desert Song originally done by Michael Schenker Group. I must admit that I like this version better. It’s actually very good and shows just what this band is capable of.

Conclusion

Well well well. To say I’m unimpressed would be an understatement. But not all is lost. There is a lot of potential in this band. It’s clear how competent Sons Of Cult is musically. If they improve on the vocals and put a little more thought and time into the songs, they could put out a great album. But they didn’t here! If you are looking for a generous helping of headbanging heavy metal, you may want to look elsewhere, but if you just want something to put on and not pay much attention to on the morning drive to work, this may suffice.

THENWOTHM SCORE: 6/10