Here's an interesting release from instrumental metal act 3 Headed Monster (3HM for short). It's not everyday you hear a group play this sort of stuff in an instrumental format; Three Headed Monster contains no shortage of thrash, death, and progressive metal licks, and quite frankly this disc literally shreds from the get-go. As evident by the song titles, the band seems to have a penchant for giant monster films and pro-wrestling, so close your eyes and picture giant lizard beasts and flying head-butts while Chris Kessaris and Chris Ceechini lay down riff after splendid riff throughout these eight dramatic workouts. You'll hear bits of Iron Maiden, Annihilator, Metallica, Savatage, Megadeth, Helloween, Morbid Angel, Testament, Exodus, Behold the Arctopus, you name it, as these two guitar studs have taken their influences and whipped up some molten stew here that at times will leave you breathless. The rest of the band are no slouches either, and combined the foursome make for one lean metal machine. Tracks like "Ultimate Rage", "Varan, and "Perfect-Plex" impress as far as complex riffery, chops, and melody goes, while "The Beast of Odo Island" shows the band's sense of taste and restraint. For classic early 80's NWOBHM sounds, check out the lethal "Ides of March", and if your thing is the Bay Area Thrash scene, look no futher than "Bitter End".
As good as this stuff is, one can only wonder what these guys could do if they had the right vocalist. Whether they decide to ever go the vocal route or decide to stick with red-hot instrumentals really makes no difference in the end, as it's obvious that 3HM can really cook. Let's see where they go from here.
Track Listing
1) Varan
2) Perfect-Plex
3) The Beast of Odo Island
4) Ultimate Rage
5) Bloodbath II
6) Ides of March
7) Bitter End
8) Engines of AKI
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