Metal-observer.com Website Review

Why in the hell is Rush on Metal Archives? Have you ever wondered that? I’ve had discussions with fellow metalheads and I’ve heard the arguments for both sides. Some say that Rush have written unabashed metal songs, and other say that, while they have been influential to the metal scene, they’ve never written an album full of metal, which should disqualify them from being included on an encyclopedia for metal bands. I fall in with the latter group—I think Rush was influential (and obviously a fantabulous, world-beating band) but not a metal band. Why am I going on and on about Rush? Because Sacral Rage’s new album has a metric fu*kton of Rush Since their 2015 debut album, fans of the more extravagant corners of heavy metal have been waiting with baited breath for more material recognizable as the same band, they have upped the influence from tech-thrash, prog metal, and (as mentioned) Rush, to create an album that at the very least equals all the hopes that everyone had for this album. The album starts off with the excellent, synthy opener “Progenitor,” which immediately calls to mind the holy triumvirate with its washes of electronic, outer-spacy noises. This intro gives way to “Eternal Solstice,” the first proper track on the album, which starts this thing out on an interstellar ba*g. Right off the bat, we’re treated to some extremely over-the-top theatrical vocals from Dimitris K. For those who don’t like banshee screaming, this may be a bit of an adjustment, because this man is all over the map on this album, from ear-piercing falsettos, to mid-range growls, to more traditional heavy metal singing. It all sounds a bit unorganized at first, but once you’ve made your way into this album’s atmosphere, it is hard to imagine the album without these vocals. And on “Eternal Solstice,” like every other track, we’re treated to every maniacal vocalization Dimitris can come up with. We also begin to get a taste for the absurd guitar wizardry that is present throughout the album, the most striking of which is near the end of