A great Metal album.
“This is the Devil's Train service, calling at Beelzebub Parkway, Hades on the Wold and due to arrive at Mephistopheles Central at 18.30. Return tickets are not valid this weekend. Or at any time”
Yep, not even Railtrack would agree to this service. Devil's Train have got some big guns working on it; RD Liapakis, Jari Kainulainen and Jorg Michael on skins, all well-known, but all from a certain area – the world of Stratovarius, Mystic Prophecy, Evergrey. And so we could be forgiven for thinking that this album would pattern that music as closely as Eric Pickles shadows the new arrivals at Warburtons. But you'd be wrong. The album cover is a fire breathing Satanic locomotive and the music inside breathes just as much sulphur. It bangs from beginning to end, but it is resolutely Classic Metal; big, ballsy and brilliant. Yes, these gents have conspired to produce something which is simply stupendous. The drums are as thick as a Wayne Rooney convention; the bass is heavy as my heart when ‘The One Show’ comes on and the riffs? They are bothersome, big, filling the space just as Black Label Society led the way, but not becoming the bore that so many bands now make it. And that is because they leaven that toughness with some refreshing melody and open spaces to stick your head through and breathe the clean air.
Making their first stop at ‘Fire And Water’, the intentions are clear from the start, as a mouth organ ushers in an urgent riff with some warm, bluesy vocals and a filthy solo, but a few minutes later we rattle by the title track, classy driving Metal, with grime under its fingernails but an open, familiar chorus. By the time we pull into ‘Roll The Dice’, the pace is really rising, as riffs slap us in the face and then swaddle us in a glorious melody. The production is fat, but allows all of the serrated riffing to cut through and the performances - particularly Laki Ragazas' varied, groovy solos - are all pristine. They’ve locked into not just the music but the vibe, the feel, the very Metal. They even throw in a behemoth of a ballad, ‘Forever’. Nothing really stands out, but the simplicity of the groovy riffing ‘Sweet Devil's Kiss’, with a gang chorus and staccato notes into a keening solo makes a claim for greatness. And if there's no real lapel-grabber, at least nothing really stinks.
What a great Metal album. And what a surprise! Like the recent Poison Sun album, this delights in confounding our expectations. One question; when's the next train due?
Steve Swift
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