Album
Type: Full Length
Date
Released: 22/09/2014
Label:
Century Media Records
‘The
First’ CD/DD/LP track listing:
Side
1
01.
Evil Cathedral (2:46)
02.
Glint of the Knife (3:12)
03.
The Gauntlet (4:36)
04.
Bloody Night (2:55)
05.
Heathen Castle (3:16)
06.
The Flight (2:27)
Side
2
01.
Talisman (2:37)
02.
The Sacrifice (3:22)
03.
Mark of Evil (3:01)
04.
Wicked 'n Cruel (3:05)
05.
Black Candle (2:48)
06.
Trip Forever (2:29)
07.
Nightmare (4:38)
Bio:
Many
choose to play metal, but it’s only a dedicated few who actually
are metal. It’s the fanatical, die-hard devotion to the cause that
sets these genuine metal maniacs apart; it’s the spirit of metal
madness that flows through them. And in London’s AMULET you have
five such individuals, all proudly banging like maniacs in the name
of all that’s good and heavy metal.
Their
debut EP, 2011’s “Cut The Crap” 7”, was a nails-hard
statement of intent. With the brawling street spirit of early 80’s
metal – think of Iron Maiden’s days in rough boozers rather than
sports stadiums – AMULET capture the sound of classic metal, but
more importantly, they bring the feeling of
fist-to-the-chops-and-don’t-spill-my-pint grit firmly into the 21st
century. And what else would you expect from a band formed of such
die-hard underground metal fanatics?
Since
2010, the men of AMULET have been proudly flying the flag for British
steel, both onstage andoff. Guitarist Heathen Steven is the man who
helped set up London’s Live Evil Festival in 2010 – run with
support of Darkthrone drummer Fenriz – to showcase the best of what
the underground scene has to offer. Singer Jamie Elton has spent his
entire adult life recording metal bands and putting on gigs by
underground legends like Pagan Altar and Cloven Hoof before the retro
resurgence took flight. Drummer ‘Dave Sherwood on Drums’,
meanwhile, is something of an UK mascot for passionate fandom
internationally. And then there’s incredible shred-king Nippy
Blackford on guitar, who has been burning the frets since the ‘90s
and adds some truly exceptional flare to the album. Finally Bill
Dozer not
only channels Cronos on four strings, but works as a respected tattoo
artist while creating all of AMULET’S artwork - including the
incredible painting made for the cover of their debut, “The First”.
The
Band:
Jamie
Elton | vocals
Heathen
Steven | guitar
Nippy
Blackford | guitar
Bill
Dozer | bass
Dave
Sherwood \ drums
Review:
From
Merry England comes the group Amulet, and from the very first track
you can get exactly what these guys are going for. Their sound seems
to be extremely targeted in the "New Wave of British Heavy
Metal" era of Iron Maiden, or even Vardis, with a little
Motorhead thrown in, but without Lemmy's unique vocals. In
fact, it seems to be a bit heavy handed. With titles like "Glint
of the Knife", or "Heathen Castle", they seem to be
trying REALLY hard to convince you that they are a throwback to those
days. In fact, so much so, it's a little hard to swallow. It's as
though they are smashing the idea over your head, instead of letting
you come to that conclusion by yourself.
If
you didn’t get enough of that era's sound, or just think that
everything should sound like early Maiden, then you might very well
dig Amulet. The music IS solid, and the song writing isn’t bad at
all. My only complaint would be that several of their songs tend to
sound very much alike, and there isn’t quite enough versatility. I
like a band that can do a fast heavy song, and then change it up a
bit, or throw in an interesting part in the "Middle Eight".
Amulet
doesn’t mess around with that crap, they keep the pace. That’s
fine, if that's your cup of tea. However, as with any band, they are
only as strong as the weakest link in the chain, and with Amulet, for
me, it’s the vocals. When I think of NWOBHM, I think Iron Maiden
and Bruce Dickenson, or Judas Priest and Rob Halford. Now, not
everybody can match up to those guys. We are talking about some of
the best metal vocalists ever. Yet, such a band needs a powerful
voice to go along with those lyrics of London's back-alley stabbings,
and nightmare hellscapes. Amulet doesn't quite deliver on that front.
The
vocals are decent. But not great and at times, even a little choked.
I don’t mean to imply that the singer is terrible. Far from it,
but I was hoping for a dynamic voice to go along with my vision of
Union Jacks and spiked armbands, unfortunately I was left a little
cold on that front.
So,
bottom line, did I enjoy this or not? Yes, but I wasn't enthralled.
I like what Amulet is going for, but honestly, I think it comes off
as "Trying too hard". I think the sound seems intentionally
manufactured, instead of grown organically. None of the band's
musicality is questionable. Each of the members of Amulet play quite
well. Even the vocals, which I didn’t love, aren’t too shabby.,
it's just that overall, what you hear seems to be very much trying to
be a lost Iron Maiden album.
So,
what? You don’t like bands that have that sort of "retro"
sound? Yes, I do! In fact, I love it. However, let me give you an
example. Wolfmother. They have a serious retro sound especially
with their guitar tones and song writing. They sound like something
you'd see in some dirty club in 1974 opening up for Sir Lord
Baltimore. Dirty, fuzzy and loud. Wolfmother pulls that sound off,
YET, also somehow manage to sound new enough to be interesting. It's
a delicate balance, when you use that kind of sound that has been
done before by bands better than you. You REALLY have to try hard to
distinguish yourself.
Amulet
comes close to having that NWOBHM sound, but doesn’t go quite far
enough to really stand out, at least for me. Not to worry, even
despite this, "The First" is a solid album and if you
really, really love Judas Priest, or Vardis, or especially Iron
Maiden, you will probably, at least enjoy Amulet "The First".
Words
by: Mike Borsum
You
can pick up a copy here
For
more information:
