This is right up the alley of the traditionalist heavy metal fan, its classic Saint, however not ground breaking. It hits all the bells and whistles one would want to hear in an album of this genre and expect of Saint. Though this album in essence harks to a large extent to some of their 80’s material, there is a certain modern heaviness to it, which should appeal both to old and new fans. It’s filled with catchy melodies, and driving beats that is submerged in aggressively raw based hooks.
One has to give them respect, these guys are old time crusaders of heavy metal anthems, and the long road travelled in the industry is commendable along with being undeniable defenders of the faith. To be honest however I feel they are stronger in the 80’s roots sound, more confident than when they try and modernize with more modern metal elements. Josh Kramer who is the featured vocalist on 11 songs with those trade mark metal screamer vocal chords is a stronger match for the sound than Bryan Phyll Miller who is now their new lead singer, performing in the track “Desperate Night”. I actually don’t even know why they included him on vocals just for one song, and it’s not that he is a bad vocalist; it just does not make sense to me, and detracts from the overall consistency and strength of the album. Also by comparison he is no Josh Kramer. Richard Lynch steps to take control of lead vocals on “The Key”, and though he too is no Kramer, his delivery is edgy and powerful enough to give his vocals creditability and keeps in pace with the aggressiveness of the song. Standout tracks are “Escape From The Fire”, “Crucified” and “End Of The World”. These are solid songs full of metal crunchiness, and are classic solid metal anthems that do not disappoint.
“End Of The World” is a song that can easily typify the lyrical favourite subject choice of the band, which is end time prophesy. There is loads of substance, character and un-compromised delivery in songs like “Judgement” and “Zombie” that makes these sure fire favourites of mine off this album. Growing up as a teenager I always was a fan of Rob Halford and Judus Priest, and for any band to be found having comparison to that, well deserves recognition. “Escape From The Fire”, the last track pushes the envelope in doing exactly that, its’ a blistering metal attack that embodies many of the characteristics that one would expect musically from a band like Judus Priest, Kramer’s piercing screams, Johnson bringing some aggressive rhythm guitar to play, the pounding bass of Lynch, and some excellent drummer from newbie, Jared Knowland. It had me wishing there was more of this on the album. It is strong finisher that more than makes up for the weaker moments.
The album does not stand out as some remarkable foot note in the history of the band. It’s not that this release don’t offer anything fresh; these metallic warrior’s stand strong, but instead it’s an album that keeps pace and suit with what they do best, and that is to uphold the banner as anthem infused metal crusaders. Saint is still able to pull game out of their arsenal after nearly 30 years, their metal infused hard rock will still be a winner among many, and their pure legend status will carry a release, good or bad. So, yes it’s not their best album, but it’s also by no means their worst. If you are a fan, go out and by it! And if you are new to the metallic sounds of Saint, go listen to their album, Hell Blade , and it will give you a better picture and respect of who these guys are, what they are about, and capable of.
For fans of Accept and Judas Priest.
Rating: 6.8/10
Review by: Don de Necker
Tracklist:
1. The Crucible
2. Crucified
3. The Key
4. End Of The World
5. Let It Rock
6. In The Fray
7. Inside Out
8. Desperate Night
9. Zombie Shuffle
10. Judgement
11. To Live Forever
12. Escape From The Fire
13. The Crucible (Reprise)
Band members:
Josh Kramer – Lead Vocals
Bryan Phyll Miller – Lead Vocals on “Desperate Night”
Richard Lynch – Bass/Lead Vocals on “The Key”
Jerry Johnson – Lead & Rhythm Guitars
Jared Knowland – Drums
Record Label: Armor Records, July 2012
Discography:
Warriors of the Son (1984 Rotten)
Time’s End (1986 Pure Metal)
Too Late for Living (1988 Pure Metal/2000 Armor)
The Perfect Life (EP) (1999 Armor)
In the Battle (2003 Armor)
Warriors of the Son (Re-Recorded) (2004 Armor)
Live 05 (2005 Armor)
The Mark (2006 Armor)
Crime Scene Earth (2008 Armor)
Hell Blade (2010 Retroactive)
Desperate Night (2012 Armor)
Buy the album here:
Holland & Worldwide: First Paradox Metalrecords
Weblinks: Website / Facebook / Myspace
Video below ‘Desperate Night’