loading...Hail To Arms has arrived! - 95%
In a confused world of pop-punk, emo, hardcore and other inferior genres, one band has been handing out real metal in lethal doses, that being Lubbock's own Hail to Arms. This demo has been recorded about two months shy of their one year anniversary as a band, and without a permanent bassist, with vocalist Adam Wright handling bass duties. Taking all the ingredients that make up a successful heavy metal band - screeching vocals, double leads and harmonies, thundering bass and drums, mixing them together real well, adding a sprinkle of Megadeth and about twenty sprinkles of Iron Maiden (see Black Sunrise), you'll get this demo. A quick listen would yield a still young, emerging band's image, yet a long, detailed all-nighter (I have no life) would prove that there's a lot of substance behind the band.
As an early document of Hail to Arms' abilities, this demo delivers quite nicely, even if some of the songs are more concert friendly than the others. The quality is suprisingly good for the budget, and the tightness of the band as a unit already makes itself known, the lead guitarists sounding like they've played together their entire lives, the vocalist handling himself with the confidence of Sebastian Bach, and the drums sounding exactly on the spot.
There were no song choices for the demo, as the band simply put down every song they'd written and were able to perform so far (except for their version of Judas Priest's Breakin' The Law, which they saved for concert performances). The songs included on the demo sound either like already-made classics (Hail to Arms, Black Sunrise), or early versions of excellent songs to come (Metal Revenge, Lake of Mystery). The demo had an amazing response from everyone, including quotes such as "saviors of metal" and "first American true metal band in the last 20 years".
Of course, this demo is in no way a classic, because it simply portrays a band who have yet to showcase their "classic album" recording abilities and allows fans to listen to Hail to Arms outside of the concert hall.
