Last Prophecy

“Last Prophecy” musically resembles the “Summon the Dead” album; fast rhythms, hellish drums, thick vocals and ripping solos. I am not sure if they did it intentionally but it reminds me a lot of “Summon the Dead”, especially the way the riffs are played (sharp and very fast) and the vocals are sung (thick voice that grunts and screams). I guess, since Summon the Dead was a small success, they tried to recreate the same atmosphere and feeling. And, to some extend, it works.

The recipe is the same. Take a technical drummer that can play like there is no tomorrow, take a bass player that can keep the rhythm, take two guitarists that can play fast and sharp, add the crazy, almost improvised, solos and you get a decent thrash metal album.

But although it succeeds musically sometimes the passion is not there. Traditionally Flames have spoiled us with excellent music with real guts and passion, they really lived what they played. Now this is quite a different album to their previous ones. Not musically-wise, not composition-wise, not riff-wise, but passion wise. Sometimes (not always) it sound lifeless and uninspired, like they released this album because they had to, not because they felt like it. I think instead of progressing and taking their music one step further they stagnated and stayed at the same level.

Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad album, I'd say all songs are more than average... and this is the problem. Flames are not an average band, they are an excellent band. With the three studio albums they have released in the past they have set their fans' expectations very high... and this LP is something their fans do not expect. It is a good album, but not for Flames.

If you are a fan of the genre (like me) you will appreciate it. Otherwise you might find it a bit uninspired.