Balance Of Power - Perfect Balance
(Nightmare)Lance King and his turret rockers Balance Of Power are back with an edgier record, one that almost shadows changing production choices within the Royal Hunt camp, most keyboard atmospherics and percussive approach, drums which sound played but sampled. No better or worse than the previous three albums (this band always had it locked down for your love), Perfect Balance nestles nicely in that space between progressive metal, power metal and a link to simpler goth metal sounds of the late '70s (you know the names, don't wear 'em out). Good lyrics too (y'know, you can relate), underscored with nifty track by track illustrations.
Rating 8Goliath - The Gate
(The Music Cartel)Goliath are the domain of 6' 4" - and by the look of things, quite wide of girth - Mick "Goliath" Rowe, which by my slide rule and abacus calculations gives him the same mass of any three Blue Oyster Cult members - take your pick. Musically, what he delivers however is a thick, simple type of stoner rock, frustratingly crossed with slow mainstream heavy metal, a lower tier proposal when competing in a genre with a notorious glut of faultless acts (mostly from Sweden). It makes for average, garagey, hanging chord riffs that must rely on atmosphere to pull them through, an atmosphere that exists about half the time only, due to the plain jane recording values. As well, Mick writes dark, too literal Christian lyrics, sorta like Trouble or Mortification, but more peaceful and deathful. Further cross in the coffin: eight tracks, 34 minutes. Highlight: 'Dear Aleister', which contains at least a few more notes to the riffs as well as some eerie background layers and Mick's best vocal performance on the record. An indication of further direction, perhaps? Contact www.IamGoliath.com or mail to worldofgoliath@yahoo.com for more info.
Rating 5.5
