Crillson - Coming Of A New Age (1993)

Another of those bands stuck in the '80s and thankfully oblivious to the major shifts in metal during the grunge-infested early '90s. These Canadian's vomit out raging power metal with a strong thrash edge. It's all very macho, muscular and high-pitched and reasonably heavy too thanks to the dense guitar sound of Daniel Miller. Admittedly, the production is pretty poor and whilst vocalist Jesse Rezendes hits the right notes quite often, much of this sounds like it was recorded in a basement, giving it a mid '80s type quality. There are some moments of note despite the obvious negatives, album opener 'No Cure' is a rollicking listen, whilst 'The Chosen One' desperately tries to sound epic - Jesse is on fire with this one, his wails give the track a strong epic power metal feel. 'Destiny' and 'Veils of Darkness' are also excellent offerings, 'Coming of...' is certainly an obscurity well worth checking out if you like the mid to late '80s style of chest-pounding metal, just a shame this was swallowed up, the title of the record seeming a little ironic...the atrocious cover makes this opus even more charming.
6.5/10