It’s four years since Spain’s Frenzy put out their last album, the largely excellent Blind Justice. But as you marvel at them powering through gargantuan album closer Give Me Shred (Or Give Me Death), it’s clear that they haven’t spent that time loafing about on the razz on one of their country’s wondrous beaches…
Rather, they’ve honed their skills to the point where the album they are about to set loose on your ears is in every way better than it’s predecessor. And if you realised just how much we liked that last one, you can imagine what this new offering is doing to excitement levels in the Sentinel Daily office.
Give Me Shred… is a juggernaut of a track – the Scorpions at their Jabs-inspired peak accompanied by a lorryload of steroids gets you into the approximate ballpark of just how good it is – but, whilst the band undoubtedly reaches back to the eighties a lot to find inspiration – they even find time to throw in a mighty fine Rick Springfield cover here – Of Hoods And Masks is more than just mere retroactive blather.
In short, they’ve remade and remodelled the eighties metal template and made it their own. Where Is The Joke adds the piss and vinegar of thrash to the mix without surrendering any of the melody always inherent in the band’s music thanks to the superior vocals of Anthony Stephen, whilst Spectre of Love, as the name might suggest, sees the band revelling in their ability to write a power ballad in 2023 without it sounding like something Steel Panther might have their eye on.
Luis Pinedo and the superbly-monickered Billy Banzai steal the show regularly with some truly heroic lead guitar playing, whilst the rhythm section of bassist Choco and Pablo Bazán (drums) give new meaning to the term watertight as they underpin every metallic romp with utter solidity. Without tipping to far into hyperbole, it’s difficult to adequately describe just how good these guys are.
Call me a dreamer, but I suspect a lot of people like me would give their eye teeth to see these guys, the evergreen Tygers of Pan Tang and, say, Canadian uber metallers Striker share a stage in the not to distant future – that really would put excitement meter needles deep into the red! But until that day comes I’ll have to be satisfied with cavorting around the living room to newly-minted classic metal Of Hoods And Masks‘ standout cut Uncompromised – start saving, ‘cos this is one album you won’t want to miss!
Of Hoods and Masks releases on April 20th.
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