A ritual of ups and downs

Fueled by the ferocious sound and intensity that is True Heavy Metal, SHOW N TELL was formed in 2019 by guitarist/singer Dave Rodriguez. The band released a 3-song demo in October of 2019 and received lots of positive feedback from the underground metal scene. Pushing the band to create something truly remarkable and working hard on the first album, Show N Tell is now getting ready to light the fire with their debut full-length album, “The Ritual Has Begun”. Full speed ahead, SHOW N TELL, an original Heavy Metal band based out of Phoenix, Arizona, isn’t holding anything back and plans on proving themselves worthy with a true heavy metal classic album that will metal the world right off!
Influenced by bands such as Dokken, Iron Maiden, Accept, W.A.S.P., Skull Fist and Enforcer, the debut album will be released by No Remorse Records on January 26th, 2024. “The Ritual Has Begun” was recorded and produced by Joe Asselin at Switchblade Sound. Mixed by Jeffrey Fred Jr Robens. Mastered by Bart Gabriel. Album artwork by Luca “Zeero” Zironi.

LINE-UP
David Rodriguez- Guitars/Vocals
Cade Gardner- Bass
Mike Thomas- Drums
Daniel Dobbs- Guitars (lead)

REVIEW

We kick things off with “Rip N Tear”, which naturally opens with some ripping riffs and a sky-tearing banshee’s wail. I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting this to sound so much like speed metal, but that’s not a bad thing at all. In some respects, this feels and sounds like SHOW N TELL’s “show-off” song (i.e. the song that exists so the band can show off their skills, think like “Hit the Lights”), as evidenced by the absolute facemelter of a solo. It’s a quick little foray into their sound, and it left me wanting more, which is more than enough for an opening track.

Next came “Run to the Light” with a crescendo of guitar work that ushered in the song with a tempestuous fury. Mike Thomas is drumming up a storm all throughout this one. Though I must confess that while the instruments are all around great, I couldn’t but feel that something was off about the vocals here, not sure if it was the mix or what have you.

“Night Stalker” followed suit and began with the cymbals ticking like a clock, followed by a really smooth 80s glam tinged riff. It’s a track rife with that “main single” sort of feel, which I do think plays to SHOW N TELL’s strengths. Speaking of those strengths, the guitarwork is a shining diamond from the very first riff, and the solo in particular moves things to a whole other level.

The title track, “The Ritual Has Begun”, was next up and started off with some nifty little riffage that gradually grew louder and louder. Again though, I don’t think the vocal style is for me per se, but they are good vocals make no mistake, just not my personal taste. SNT (Show N Tell) is great at crafting melodies and harmonies that work in tandem with the instruments and vocals. They aren’t amateurs, is what I’m saying. Roughly at the 3:20 mark is some more great riffing, worthy of a headbanging good time.

To close out the first half of the album, we have “Heavy Metal”. A stomping beat from the drums lynchpins the opening together as the guitars and bass all join in, creating something that again sounded very glam influenced in its composition. Great lyrics and chorus here, in what was, as expected, a metal song about metal, and those are always good fun. This would also be perfect as the opening track at a live show.

Our second half begins with “I’m Alive”, kicking it off with some heavily distorted sustains that evoked metal of the early and late 70s, before falling into some tried-and-true thrashing. It also features SNT dropping an always-powerful F-bomb. After clearing my ears of such sin, I unpaused the track and continued on with the album.

“All Alone Tonight” was next up with more 80s inspired guitarwork, really great chords in the early part of this track. It’s not a traditional ballad, but I am considering it the album’s token ballad song, due to the lyrics having similar themes of love. All told it’s a rather straightforward song that doesn’t allow the album to take a leap forward nor one that holds it back.

Our penultimate track was “Tortured by Reality”, borderline shredding guitar exploded out as the song began. This one had a really great rhythm and groove (which I think are actually synonyms) behind it, and it was hard to hold back a slow head-bob. Again, the guitar ability is through the roof with SHOW N TELL.

Finally, we came to “The Second Death”, which began slowly at first before a drumroll gave way to a smooth as heck bassline. It’s a slower and more deliberately paced track than much of the rest of the album, and I truly think that SNT’s strength lies in that realm of things. That being said, the track does a phenomenal job at tying the entire album together and meshing those two styles nicely.

CONCLUSION

This was a curious listen! About half of it didn’t connect with me, but the other half really did. As a debut, it’s a nice little piece of seeing what works and what doesn’t. Absolutely insane guitarwork throughout the entire record, with the drums and bass not falling far behind. Admittedly, the vocal style wasn’t quite for me, though it might be for you!

TheNWOTHM Score: 7/10

SHOW N TELL
Bandcamp: https://officialshowntell.bandcamp.com/
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