Reviews
2006-09-09
It doesn't get much more oldschool than this. Netherlands hard rockers Vortex have been active for 25 years now yet remained something of a guarded secret outside of their home country, to celebrate their 25th year, the band has released a new album which contains classic heavy metal with some hard rock elements and some heaver, almost thrash-like segments as well.
There's no denying the ability of the band members, most of the time they come off as a less-produced version of Iron Maiden with an oldschool vocalist that brings to mind Saxon's at times, the music is mostly guitar driven, with some good riffs strewn in.
Not much here for nu-metal or younger fans, this is classic metal stripped down to basics, Endlessly is a fast opener that starts things off with some energy, Hail Scum is a slower track, and one of my least favorite here, while All Going Down again features a good, fast riff. Sound is not bad, not major league crisp, but quite clear.
The second part of the album is an actual recording of the band performing live in 1983, as expected, the material is much closer to 70's hardrock, with some NWOBHM in there as well, and sound quality is definitely lesser. In any case, this is a nice package for this veteran band, quite a gem for oldschool metal fans, but with nothing too fresh or modern for others.
Alon Miasnikov
