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Metal/Prog Metal CD Reviews

Metal Pistol Magnum Force Review by Gary Hill This act is a metal band with a female lead singer. Her name is “Sunny Lee,” and that’s not quite the kind of name you’d expect for a metal band. One might also expect a metal act with a female singer to land in the epic metal territory that seems to be so popular (at least in terms of the number of bands). Well, they do some songs like that, but there is really quite a wide range of metal to be found here. While not everything is great, it’s all pretty darned good and there are moments of brilliance. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2014 Volume 5 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review

D.O.A. The musical arrangement on the introduction and verse is so mean. The vocals bring more of an epic metal quality. The chorus reinforces that. This is a killer tune and a great way to start the set for sure. I love the technical yet screaming guitar solo on this beast.

Minefield While this is less mainstream, it has a real NWOBHM vibe to it. The guitar is tasty and the vocals are a little distant in the arrangement somehow. It’s a good tune, just not as strong as the opener was.

Toxic Sin Some of this is like a power ballad. As it works out into the later sections, though, it’s more of a 1980s rocker. Either way, this is cool stuff. It’s also another big change.

Pollution Solution More of an extreme metal vibe, blended with some punk rock, is the idea on this one. It’s mean and rather raw.

Magnum Force The title track is smoking hot instrumental. It’s based on a killer riff and features some great guitar soloing. This is a bit weird, but also very tasty. It’s almost progressive rock in nature.

Destruction in Action The first minute or so of this is essentially a delicate and intricate melodic ballad. Then it shifts to some raw extreme metal. It’s quite punky.

Buried Alive A lot more polished, this one feels very much like modern European metal. It’s one of the strongest cuts here.

First Time Here’s another that fits with that European epic metal thing. The chorus is quite mainstream and the song is just a mean one. It does have a mellow, proggy section, though. There is also a shift later to a jazzy kind of sound for a time.

Killing My Love This is more of a straight ahead metal song, but with a modern edge to it. It’s a fierce rocker with a lot of energy.

Josephine A bit more raw, this is a pretty straight ahead metal tune. It’s not all that special, but the chorus hooks are good.

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