Bandcamp Patrol yields PATROL!

While browsing Bandcamp over the last few days, adding albums and artists to my ever-expanding wantlist, I came across one that was not familiar to me. PATROL, a traditional heavy metal band from Barcelona, Spain. As luck would have it, they had just released their debut EP less than a month ago.

This will be a touch unconventional of some of our other pieces, as PATROL did not reach out to us directly, nor do we have anything in the way of promo or even pictures. The band maintains an incredibly limited social media presence, from what my sleuthing can find at least. At present, this debut EP is only available digitally and via a limited edition cassette, which has already sold out. Congratulations PATROL, that’s awesome for you all!

LINE-UP
Heitor – Bass/Vocals
Manah – Drums
Romeo – Guitars
Val – Guitars/Vocals

REVIEW

“Cold Blood”. It opened off with a right proper NWOBHM styled riff, and the persistent chug of the bass and the pounding drums, really gave it that retro feel. The vocals were a more atmospheric sort, they reminded me somewhat of SEVEN SISTERS and a bit of HAUNT, but still had their own distinctive quality to them. I also felt like the actual band they were reminding me of the most was completely escaping me. That said, the instruments are really the centerpiece here, despite the powerful delivery of the vocals.

“Pit Stop”. Ooh, there is a groove in this one that was pure magic. It was a slightly more fast-paced, dare I say punky, track that was nothing like its namesake. Not a single a moment was wasted in this one. I found the chorus a bit on the earworm side, and the guitar work to be stellar.

“Breakout”. Now that’s an opening riff, great stuff that reminded me of both SAXON and THIN LIZZY. The overall riffs in this one definitely have that bluesy tinge to them, which I’m quite fond of. I’ll take a less heavy riff with some blues behind it, over an overly heavy chug any day. A brief, but one hell of a guitar solo near the end was the cherry on top.

“Ceremony”. More great riffs to start, a nice old school rock n roll vibe to them, very AEROSMITH. The bass was very pronounced in this one, and I loved it. Whenever I can hear the bass, I always get MAIDEN vibes, and as a Maidenhead, or whatever IRON MAIDEN calls their fans, that’s awesome. This was the longest track of the EP, but still under 4 minutes and it never felt like it overstayed.

CONCLUSION

What a sweet little diamond this was to find! For a debut EP, the production was great! Sure, the vocals could be a bit louder and more pronounced in some parts, but they don’t need to be. Obviously, this is a bit of a teaser to whatever PATROL does in the future, but I am eagerly awaiting for their next release and seeing their growth. This just goes to show that good music, and good metal, is out there, sometimes you’ve just got to search for it.

TheNWOTHM Score: 9/10

PATROL’s Patrol released on 19 August, 2024

Bandcamp: https://patrolpatrolpatrol.bandcamp.com/album/patrol-ep