Angels of Babylon: Kingdom Of Evil

Traditional Heavy Metal requires a rhythm section with the power and precision of a heavy weight world champion to really hit home and with the debut from Angels of Babylon that is one thing that is assured. Pairing the drum demolition of one time Manowar man Rhino with the considerable bass presence of ex Megadeth member Dave Ellefson, almost guarantees the sort of hard as nails backbone required. Rounding out the line up are Berklee graduate and tutor Ethan Brosh on guitar who has also released a solo album with an impressive guest star list and vocalist Dave Fefolt who has fronted Forgotten Realm among others. Rhino has been amassing the songs on this album for quite some time, however until he found the "optimum lineup" to record them, they were kept under wraps. However once he was introduced to the other three musicians here, he felt he had found what he was looking for.

Performance wise there's no denying that Rhino was bang on the money with his assessment of his band mates. Ellefson is a master at grounding songs with his solid bass work; however it's the two lesser known members that come to the fore. Fefolt has a commanding roar that blends aggression with a strong melody, whereas Brosh shows the ability to crush with some later day Sabbath inspired riffage, however he also has the deftness of touch to fire off some blinding solos and it's the colour his playing adds to the songs that keep them interesting. Rhino himself uses all the skills he showed while in Manowar to make the songs have a huge rhythmical impact.

The tracks themselves range from the heavy Iommi homage of "Tarot" with its bone crushing riff and Fefolt's howling scream (it's a slow plodder, however it is one of the strongest moments on show), to "Kingdom Of Evil" which has chanted backing vocals, church organ like effects and an eerie building guitar attack that just gets more and more effective as the song moves on. That said there's not quite enough variety across the ten songs to really mark this as a stand out in the crowded heavy/power metal market. There are though more successes than failures and songs such as "Conspiracy Theory" and "Apocalypse 2012" have choruses that stick in the mind long after you've filed the album away and the use of keyboards also add a pleasingly grandiose touch. As debut from "projects" go, Kingdom Of Evil is one of stronger ones I've heard in a little while, and while it doesn't really set the world alight, there's enough on show to leave me hankering for a follow up.

Track Listing
1. Conspiracy Theory
2. Apocalypse 2012
3. Night Magic
4. Tear Out My Heart
5. Oh How The Mighty Have Fallen
6. Tarot
7. Kingdom Of Evil
8. The Remnant
9. Angels Of Babylon
10. Second Coming

Added: January 7th 2010
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Band's MySpace Page
Hits: 3610
Language: english

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