Seasons of the Wolf
Lost in Hell
Earth Mother
This is some of the most original Heavy Metal music I’ve heard all year! It’s classic power metal straight from the hinges of an old Iron Maiden, too.
Vocally, frontman and lyricist Wes Waddell has a biting, screaming voice that perfectly matches the powerful Heavy Metal guitars, and amazingly, Heavy Metal keyboards. It’s the excellent Heavy Metal songwriting that is most exciting, though. All the songs are about death and destruction (the title track, “Vengeance,” “Abandoned City”), politico-religious zealotry (“S.O.S.,” “Witchfinder”), piloting cool spaceships (“Communion” and “Interstellar”), and the occult (“Voo Doo Master,” and “Initiation”). These songs are all great Heavy Metal songs and deserve praise for their awesome guitars (“Abandoned City” has an incredible intro) and elegant Heavy Metal sensibility.
If that’s not enough to convince the “Death to False Metal” crowd, let me comment on SOTW’s excellent song “One Land, One King.” It’s a powerful, anthemic Heavy Metal song centered about the Arthurian legend, complete with Merlin and the Holy Grail that, had it been twenty years ago, a young Steve Harris would’ve been a good guess as to its authorship. “One Land, One King,” is replete with blazing guitars, marshaling vocals and a metal music box rhythm that’s as addictive as great Heavy Metal can get!
For a pull-out-the-stops sophomore Heavy Metal album, Lost In Hell should serve as a model of excellence to other young Heavy Metal bands out there.
Earth Mother Music/SOTW Tunes, P.O. Box 339, Longboat Key, FL 34228; http://members.aol.com/bloodtree
