Ignitor Year of the Metal Tiger Review by Gary Hill
The new disc from Ignitor covers some interesting territory. There’s nothing Earth shattering in terms of breaking new ground or originality, but these guys really pull it off in style. The only issue is that the disc tends towards getting a little samey at points.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2012 Volume 3 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
Heavy Metal Holocaust
Pounding in extremely heavy, this has a real modern metal sound mixed with classic thrash. The vocals are more like Krokus, though. The lyrics seem to create heavy metal mythology around the concept of selling one’s soul for rock and roll. It has ties to Charlie Daniels’ “Devil Went Down to Georgia,” too, though.
Beast In Black This is extremely heavy, but it’s less modern than the opener. There’s actually one section that reminds me of the fast paced segment of Queen’s “Prophet Song.” This is a killer tune.
Raiders from the Void The fury continues with another scorching hot metal stomper. This beast really rocks. It’s perhaps closest to an ultra-heavy modern Judas Priest. This is more extreme than that suggests, but it should still appeal to the same fans. In some ways I can make out some King Diamond reference here.
Shadow of the Needle Fast paced and not quite as extreme, I really love the main riff that drives this thing. It’s got a more epic feeling to it with a pretty cool song structure. It’s certainly the least recognizable (in terms of references) of anything to this point. It’s just killer metal.
Island of the Damned Fierce jamming starts this one off, right out of the gate. It has a more melodic sound at times than some of the other music, but it’s still all crunch and fury. This has an accessible vocal arrangement and yet is still brutally heavy. It’s certainly one of the highlights of the set.
The Kaiser There’s no question this is metal, but the opening section is the most melodic we’ve heard to this point. It’s a real screamer of a tune. The only problem is, by this point the onslaught is starting to feel too samey. The tempo and general intensity haven’t really changed from song to song and that’s making it all feel a bit too much like another slab of the same thing. There is, however, a killer symphonic epic metal instrumental movement later that’s great.
We Are IGNITOR They saved the best for last. While the whole similarities throughout weighs on this piece, it’s still the most powerful number here. That really says a lot. It’s got a lot of thrash, but also a lot of Judas Priest in the mix. It’s extremely aggressive and yet has enough melody from keeping it from descending into pure noise-metal. The guitar solo is extremely fast and technical.
