Stalingrad

I love me some heavy metal with balls and fun factor, and Eternal Flame are a band that I’ve never heard before doing just that. At first, I thought they were some Eastern bloc band because of the demo title, but no they’re having fun in the Netherlands. The music they play is heavy metal with a disco / funk vibe that’s pretty catchy and club-oriented, which is a good thing for me because I’ve been delving into a lot of extreme metal recently – and poor ones at that.

So like I mentioned, the style is heavy metal with a disco / hip-funk vibe that’s very guitar and vocal oriented to give off a fun-loving, care-free atmosphere. What I’m most impressed by are the solos, as apparent already in the first track – a very Iron Maiden inspired, galloping bridge section of harmonized brilliance. The production isn’t too stellar because everything’s a little grainy, quiet, and enclosed, but that’s something you’ll quickly get over. The neo-classic style of the leads is a great mix with the rest of the instruments playing funky heavy metal, and the variety kicks ass, too. The bass I love in these cases because not only is it audible, but it plays some groovy bass lines right alongside the guitars. In fact, the guitars are quieter than the bass unless there’s a raunchy lead or solo at the front.

Now for the vocals, most of the time they’re quiet and under the guitars and bass, but from what I hear it’s a cross between Bobby Blitz from Overkill and another very quiet, clean power metal singer (something tells me early Helloween). I’m not entirely sure, and they aren’t something you’ve heard before – those melodic, sorrowful croons and speaking – yeah I’m not exactly sure how to pin it. Whatever, I stick to the guitars - fresh with solos and blazing riffs. Drumming is right behind everything and probably the clearest of the bunch aside from the synthesizers; yes, synthesizers are here, too, and they play very Van Halen oriented notes – oh yeah, “Jump” style. Anyway, the drum kit is booming like the bass with a ton of drum bass power and snare echo – my kind of aggressive drumming, too.

So for an incredibly obscure band that I’ve never heard before, I’m very impressed. The vocalist is a little awkward, but he’s tolerable and the rest of the instruments precede him in glory. The production helps the vintage sound and the songs are very enjoyable and optimistic, with that funky jive always present. The Iron Maiden laden solos are addictive, and the members are focused as hell with these songs. For anyone looking to ever get into this band – like that’ll ever happen – try this demo out first.