| Metal Coven |
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| Sunday, 16 April 2006 01:37 | |||
OUT OF THE LAIR - PSYCHOTEARS (Dead Sun Records) A band coming out of Greece with Rotting Christ’s Sakis providing backup vocals on a couple of tracks. Sounds like a black metal band trying to make a name for themselves, right? One listen to Out of the Lair and it becomes clear that they are not just using a musician from a well known band in their country just to get recognition nor are they just a typical power metal band with the standard themes or requisite music pattern.Looking at the titles for the Psychotears album, one could easily mistake Out of the Lair for a gothic metal band with titles such as “Vampire Lady” and Nosferatu.” The overall sound features the power metal style predominantly used by bands such as Mystic Prophecy and Firewind. One of the things that make Out of the Lair unique is Spyros’ amazing vocal range, going from the over the top power metal screams to the low black metal growls. Surprisingly, the vocal ranges work well together and the backing vocals provided by Sakis on “Psychotears” and “Out of the Lair” fit with the songs nicely. During some points of the album, I thought King Diamond was actually contributing to the album with the high pitched vocals. While the lyrics to the songs doesn’t include unicorns or the excessive use of the words “heavy metal,” Out of the Lair still manages to rate high on the cheese factor, not that there’s anything wrong with that when it comes to power metal. Out of the Lair’s overall music composition is power metal with a little black metal thrown in for good measure. On paper, this would sound like a disaster, but Psychotears proves that done right, it can be an enjoyable listen. If Out of the Lair improves upon this formula, then there’s no telling how high the band can go. For now though, they’ll have to settle below fellow Greeks Rotting Christ and ultra-talented guitarist Gus G of Firewind. Reviewed by: Peter Santellan www.metalcoven.com
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