Reviews
2006-09-02
This self released CD from Italian power metallers Soulmask is quite a pleasant surprise in some ways, yet still feels a bit raw at times, leaving place for some experience to mature the band more.
The main strength in the band, is the excellent technical ability by the various band members, drums, keyboards, bass and guitars are top-notch, with some fantastic lead guitar and bass lines in the mix. The sound is also very good, with participation by
Whiteskull's Tony "Mad" Fonto. The band's uses its technical dexterity to create quite fast and very melodic power anthems, with an almost progressive feel and song lengths, that is actually one of the first weaknesses in my opinion, some songs should have been kept shorter and more concise.
Second problem is with the vocals, though quiet capable, and possessing a strong aggressive voice, the vocals seem to miss the point at times, located a bit low in the mix and not really taking the lead in the songs as they sometimes should, some work needed there.
I hope these guys get signed, since there's great promise here, hopefully by the time that happens, they can twick the small weak points they still have.
Alon Miasnikov
