Check and Mate

I'll never miss an opportunity to quote Training Day, and I find few situations more suitable than introducing Sultan's debut album Check and Mate to a curious throng of classic metal enthusiasts. The reason is more oblique than a reference to the lousy coverart, clearly drawn by someone who thinks 'foreshortening' is another name for a circumcision. The actual reason refers to the complexity of this album, much more unique and strategic than most games of checkers Germany was playing in the late 80's.

Stand at ease, Blind Guardian fans, I'm only referring to the obscure bands no one cares about like Death Warrant and Metal Sword. While these bands found succor in the cramped and sweaty confines of arena rock, Sultan sought inspiration from the lively riffs and hooks of NWOBHM. They make this methodology obvious by the first track 'Falcon', opening with a very 'Two Minutes to Midnight'-y riff. From then on, we're treated to a smorgasbord of ear-worm anthems that wouldn't sound out of place in Wheels of Steel.

The Saxon comparison really comes to fruition with the track 'Hard Nights, Heavy Pleasure', where high-energy rock n' roll riffs and a catchy-as-anything chorus achieve a lot with very little. Here as well as in the instrumental 'Whizzing', chord progression and leads feel static and predictable, but my furiously bouncing foot didn't seem to care that much. In this regard, Sultan must be praised for its obstinate approach to metal, evidently not caring that even fellow German speed metal gods Accept ate the heat - among other things - around this time.

Though that's not to say Check and Mate's unbowed 80's recidivism is always a good thing. Graffitied onto this album are various ignominies carried over from the late 80's, the worst example being a hideously synthetic vocoder that vocalist Dragi Majstorovic inflicts upon himself in 'Falcon' and 'Pictures of Heidi'. But most instances are thankfully terse; cheesy special effects that do little to detract from his decent singing voice and indeed the band's performance as a whole.

Possessing an excellent sense of pacing and melody, all-while providing a decidedly Dokken-approach to songwriting, the only hurdle Sultan stumbles at is the omnipresent killer-to-filler ratio. The scales are still tipped in killer's favor, with hard hitting and memorable tracks coming in the form 'Hard Nights, Heavy Pleasure', 'Night Knights', and 'Falcon'. But the filler is the stuff of incredibly boring legend. The amount of sappy, glacially-paced ballads utterly devastates this album's pacing, with the worst examples being 'For the Light' and 'Mary'. So I'll still recommend the tragically overlooked Check and Mate, but not without also recommending liberal use of the skip button.