| Live4Metal |
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| Wednesday, 08 September 2004 16:11 | |||
 The first impression on receiving this debut release from Greek power metallers Out of the Lair is one of extreme professionalism. Excellent artwork and a well laid out booklet, complete with cardboard slipcase, promotional poster and biography poster. This is the kind of release you would expect from an established band with a lot of label support, so it comes as quite a surprise to find out that the band have financed and released this album themselves. Along with the packaging the CD contains a multimedia section consisting of a mini website with lyrics, a biography, posed and live photos, contact details and even a live video, all supported by an excellent website at www.outofthelair.com. With packaging this good expectations of what's inside are quite high, and first impressions here are also good. Straight forward power metal (which grows into something rather more than that on repeated listenings) preceded by a not overly long noise intro, aptly named ‘Intronoise-X'. ‘Flying Surf' and ‘Psychotears' being the two songs that stand out for me with their catchy melodies and powerful rhythms. The guitar work of Spyros and Dim is very good throughout and is by no means typical. While they are clearly a power metal band the songs take some very strange turns which prevent the album getting boring or monotonous. Powerful, fast rhythms overlaid with airy melodies often give way to chord progressions you'd expect from a black or death metal album, but somehow they're made to fit. The drumming however, does not stand out in anyway but does provides an adequate support for the songs. The vocals are, I feel, the band's weakness. While never out of key, Spyros' voice is lower than expected and very often tends to sound slightly flat. He also lacks the power necessary to carry the melodies in places. What he does do well is the death vocals on ‘Nosferatu' and the rough vocals on ‘Last Time of Fire Child', never overdoing it, but keeping the feel and flow of the songs well in mind. Sakis Tolis (Rotting Christ) makes a vocal appearance on ‘Psychotears' and ‘Out of the Lair' providing a great counter point to the clean vocals of Spyros and second guest vocalist Eleonora. The album is also slightly let down by the production. While definitely listenable, it would have blown a lot of the competition away much more easily if a bit more time had been spent on the recording and mixing. The bass drum tends to disappear and a lot of the guitar melodies and solos sound dulled and unfinished leaving you feeling that you're missing out on some of the dynamics, but it has to be remembered that this recording was self-financed, and as such it is an excellent effort from a band deserving of some decent label attention. Stef
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