(CD, Jackal Productions, 2015)
Well, if you are looking for high quality US-Metal, you’ve come to the right place! DAMIEN THORNE came into my life many years ago when I found the “Sign Of The Jackal” LP at the local supermarket just as school (yes, school days) started after the summer vacation. I bought it for the cover and it stuck with me because of the music. To me, that record showed me how to always look beyond the first impression. I mean, the cover artwork isn’t really Derek Riggs, Dan Seagrave or Kristian Wåhlin, but it reeks of Metal nonetheless and the music on the record is fantastic. But since this was before the internet days and music press in Sweden, at least covering the US Underground Heavy Metal scene, I lost track of DAMIEN THORNE until a few years ago.
What struck me back in the day with this band is also the reason why I enjoy it so much. I love the gloom and melancholy in DAMIEN THORNE’s music and the way it is still very melodic. If you’re not familiar at all with US Heavy Metal, then I’m sorry because it’s hard for me to describe it but if I tried, I’d say it is a mix of something more dramatic, a bit BLACK SABBATH if you will. The album opener and title track is a rather easy going piece that sets the mood immediately as it has all of the aforementioned elements; pure Dark Heavy Metal with a very good chorus line. Speedy “Hell To Pay” follows and around there I started to realize that this DAMIEN THORNE release perhaps is a bit easier and closer to classic US Heavy Metal and not thoroughly as dark as the earlier releases. Still, it’s a damn catchy track and the type you want to listen when driving fast. “Dark Mission” was one of my early favorites; I really like it when the song structure isn’t the classic verse, chorus, verse, bridge, chorus etc. The dark drive and the fateful following that builds the song up is fantastic. And then when the hard riffs changes over into the beautiful melodic part in the middle, like the sad part of a movie when all hope’s lost and then back to the revenge again, is fantastic!
“Hellrider” didn’t strike as direct as the other favorites in the “Soul Stealer” album. It felt a little odd during the first spins and it took me a while to get used to the organ in the back. Of course, when I realized that this is a part of the DAMIEN THORNE sound and after recovering from the first shock I started to believe that they could have used this element more on the record. During the first part of “Tortured Dreams”, Warren Halvarson has the opportunity to show off his singing skills and range and I think he’s doing a fantastic job. Plus, the mix and the overall sound is rather unforgiving especially for the vocals. I mean, I like when an album has an organic sound and I absolutely prefer this than the one the majority of modern records have which is rather flat having everything pushed to the max all the time. But if I could wish for something it would have been a bit rounder sound on the vocals. The song itself draws my mind to OMEN’s “Battle Cry”, at least the chorus line which is pretty similar to the bridge before the chorus in the OMEN song.
I was a bit confused with the arrangement in “Riding To Glory” for quite some time. It starts off fantastically and after a complete stop it starts over; the issue I had was when I tried to connect the two parts. It was no immediate relation and it took a lot of spins before it all fell into place. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what feels disconnected but maybe it the timing of the pause... But again, the song itself is very catchy, a very cool mix between the DEEP PURPLE “Highway Star” drive and some classic '80s hit song, with the arena sing-a-long chorus and all.
One more favorite of mine is absolutely “Remember The Fallen”; the smooth flow in the verse with the rather loose rhythm is oh so nice, again Warren does a fantastic job. And the character of the chorus and the way it breaks the rhythm without losing the flow. It’s just one of those occasions where two very different riffs work perfect together. And of course, the organ in the back does the trick in the atmosphere too, dark and desperate. The album closer “Tale Of A King” summarizes all elements on the record in a very good way; the sense of melody, a creative song structure and dynamics between the different sections.
Apart from my comment regarding the production of the album which just is a minor detail in the overall impression, there’s nothing really to point out as negative. And “Soul Stealer” is absolutely in the top of my favorite albums this year, even if it didn’t make into top 10. And again, it’s hard to say why this is the case. The competition was of course very hard, as always. No matter what a damn good one it is, and if you’re into US Metal, it’s a must have.
8/10
Links:
www.DamienThorne.Com
www.Facebook.Com/DamienThorneBand
Tracklist:
01. Soul Stealer
02. Hell To Pay
03. Dark Mission
04. Hell Rider
05. Tortured Dreams
06. Riding To Glory
07. Salem
08. Remember The Fallen
09. Trapped
10. Tale Of A King
Lineup:
Warren Halvarson - Vocals
Ken Mandat - Guitars
Rick Browz - Bass
Brian Buxbaum - Keyboards
Mike Browz - Drums