Stygian Shore

Although sometimes bordering on hard rock, for the most part this is great Heavy Metal with some awesome soloing. I would describe this band's sound as a mix of 70's Priest and AC/DC, as the influences can be seen quite clearly in all of the songs, both in the riffs and vocals. Thankfully though, they don't try to replicate the respective bands sounds so much that it sounds like a tribute, instead they do what most other respectable bands to, and only take elements from them.

'Stygian Metal', the first track of the EP, is a great song to start the EP off with. It starts with a simple drum beat after which a midpaced, quality riff kicks in after about 5 seconds. After about two and a half minutes, there is a nice solo and the chorus later returns to finish the track off. The next song, 'Luv Ta Rock Ya' sounds a bit like glam rock song and is a bit too cheesy and poppy for my tastes. However, it is saved by some awesome soloing underneath the chorus, after which it takes over. The main problem with the song is the chorus, which is the cheesy and poppy aspect I previously referred to, not only because of the actual melody but also because it is repeated too many times for it's own good.

'Tidal Wave' opens up with a riff that is somewhat similar to Cacophony's 'Savage', which isn't a bad thing at all, as it is a great riff. There is a solo two minutes in which is excellent. Although it has a stupid talking section around halfway in, it is forgotten as the solo comes in (the second of the song), which is, like the others, ownage. The final song of the EP, 'Don't Look Now', finishes off the album on a high note and is similar to the first song as it has an effective, midpaced riff and some more nice soloing.

The vocalist on this EP has a voice which is quite similar to Rob Halford's upper range, and whilst not performing any awesome falsettos his vocals suit the songs well. The guitarwork, as you would've already noticed by now, is excellent and although the riffs are fairly basic the solos are far more skillful. The drumming is around average and nothing special, but it accompanies the songs well. The basslines just follow the guitars, and are hard to hear most of the time, and as a result don't really add to the songs in any discernable way.

In conclusion, although it is very hard to find nowadays, if you happen to stumble across this release I'd recommend picking it up. The band seem to have reformed so hopefully as a result of that this will get a rerelease, and I will be looking forward to hearing their new output, whenever that will be released.