Departure

'Opener Plague For Shattered Man is a riff-centric, mid-tempo monster driven by Johnson and Matthew's rolling thunder percussion line. Psyko-Sonic is the second track, opening with a stoney, laid-back Planet Caravan-like intro. A nice, heavy riff will hit about 1:15 in, but the coolest part is hearing Matthews really dig into the rhythm tool box for a series of hypnotic, repeating percussive patterns, every other pattern ending with a chime. That friggin' chime gives the whole of Psyko-Sonic a feeling of immense gravitas. Dok could be singing about shopping at Costco, but for some reason the chime makes the whole thing sound somber and serious as a heart attack. The Tale Of The Sonnekonige - comprised of four songs - is next. The Reckoning of Ages Pt. 1 is a brilliant 2:50 acoustic instrumental interlude comprised of congos (I think) and acoustic guitar that is once again reminiscent of Planet Caravan. Just when you begin to trance out, BAM!!! The slow thunder riff of Part II comes in and provides a nice counterweight to Part I. The track that will get heads banging is undoubtedly Steward of Shame, a nearly 9 minute epic that goes from the powerful, uptempo riff to some very sloooooooooow passages and back to a chug-a-thon. This is a track that reminds me of Cirith Ungol in a weird, epic way, replete with sound effects for Dok's voice in some places. I have to admit, the effects have a 'wtf??' feeling attached to it, but I grew to dig it after a couple of spins. Departure, the last track, is a cool, 70's-drenched Sabbified stomper, even featuring an Iommi-like trill post-riff... it also features an unexpected sudden change of rhythm which caught me by surprise, very nice indeed. Departure also has some of Brandon's best guitar work and proves the man to be versatile - he can do the 70's fretboard flash as well as the epic medieval doom thing, turn it on a dime and still have a unified, cohesive sound. This song also is the best showcase for Dok's bass and vocal work ... he stretches for the stars on this one. Hope the guy didn't give himself an aneurysm. ' ---Chris Barnes (Hellride Music)