A mind-blowing meld of Merciful Fate-meets Iron Maiden-meets Fates Warning ("Guardian/No Exit" days). Right out of the box I'm attacked by a dual lead, kickin' beats and building bass banter...I can't help but turn it UP! Starblind (from Sweden) slams you in the face with their first record "Darkest Horrors."
The first two songs "Ascendancy" and "Blood in the Night" are like the hammer style meat tenderisers pounding your head to mush. The rhythm section doesn't stop and the guitar solos thrash.
"Chrystal Tears" fluctuate beautifully between mellow and heavy. The mellow parts are full and enveloping while the heavy parts are powerful and plentiful.
A full on attack on the senses with wreckless abandon are the next songs "Darkest Horror" and "Mountain of madness". These unleash more intricate sonwritings. The more I listen, the more I'm pulled in by the musicality of it all.
In true Iron Maiden form, "Temple of Set" begins mid-tempo for about 6 1/2 minutes and ends it with the guitars trading solos for the remaining two minutes... very cool..
"The Great Hunt" is like a showcase for the guitar players. Taking on a more Scorpions feel, it differs from all the others. Vocally is still the same. A very good hard rock song that's heavy enough to bang your head to.
Sadly and lastly is "The Reckoning". An instant classic. Full and divers in and of itself with all the elements of "heavy".
What else can I say to convince you get this record? Relentless vocals, twin gitars that rip, boomin' drums and a display of Steve Harris style bass playing... How's that?
Downside is that I can't find it on amazon and its only 9 songs long. The upsides are too many to mention. I can hear this one all day. It's another perfect score of 10 for Starblind and the songs inside "Darkest Horrors".
Tim Duran, HMS
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