2004-05-17
I was aware of the band’s obsession with Iron Maiden beforehand, their web site demonstrated that quite clearly, and I immediately liked them!
Any Maiden fan is OK in my book, since maiden is the band, which started me out in metal, and also the band responsible for my top five metal albums.
The truth is I was expecting the regular dose of fast, melodic power metal the Italians are well known for this last decade, something along the lines of Rhapsody, I was in for a surprise.
The opening riff for The Last Command blew me away, first thing that hit me was the chunky, crystal clear sound, one of the best sounds I heard in a while, the second thing was that this was no power metal, this was heavy/thrash metal at its best!
A sharp hard hitting riff opens the track, and quickly sent me on a wave of nostalgia for metal’s older, and better days, when such thrash legends as Forbidden and heavy metal greats such as Maiden ruled the world.
There is no weak link in Anthenora’s arsenal, all instruments are played with precision and strength, their vocalist, usually a band’s weakest point, has a classic heavy metal voice, both air raid siren and coarse when the song demand, the bass player is another fine musician, strumming his bass and producing the kind of sound that Steve Harris is famed for, the drums are precise and fast, and the guitars are played to perfection, as I said, no weak link there,
The Maiden influences are not as encompassing as one might think, some good harmony riffs, some similar vocal highs, but the band manages to create something which is much more than a tribute to classic thrash or old school metal, what they create is a fantastic metal album, a must for all old school metalist, as well as new people, that are keen on understanding what made metal so big in the late eighties.
This band is heading for the big time, trust me.
Alon Miasnikov
