Born out of the ashes of the much-missed band Goathorn from Canada, Cauldron first burst onto the scene with their ‘Into the Cauldron’ EP in 2007 and are featured on the just released ‘Heavy Metal Killers’ compilation (also on Earache). Now signed by those loveable people at the aforementioned Earache records, which have been recently snapping up all the “better” bands in respective scenes, they are poised and battle ready with their debut album and are to be unleashed to the unsuspecting world. Canada has produced some legendary bands over the years; I think we have found another one to add to the list!
It is hard to say what style these guys are, simply real heavy metal with rousing vocals and galloping rhythms and finger bleeding leads, you certainly need your bullet belt at the ready. Basically the quality on this album is immense, with ‘Conjure the Mass’ being a prime example, an upbeat tune with a wonderful arrangement topped off with some pure metal guitar soloing thrown in. Jason Decay on Bass/Vocals has a powerful melodic voice; clear, precise and full of emotion that oozes out during ‘Chained Up In Chains’. Guitarist Ian Chains’ solos are simply mesmerizing, it just comes from the heart and it’s all arranged beautifully in all its real metal glory. These guys go down a storm in Europe, backed by a previous appearance at the “Keep it True” festival; it is time for the UK to catch on.
One thing is for sure, I hope they do another vinyl release; the warmth from the MP3 version would sound majestic for sure on a vintage stereo system in wax. But don’t take that to mean that it sounds dated, there is a classic style about the music but this is a tough cookie for sure and refreshing for the modern times. By the time you read this, the band will have already undertaken their whirlwind UK visit, including a show with Gama Bomb in London. It would be a shame to miss them, but a bit more notice might have been good people!
Thundering bass and drums continue on ‘Dreams Die Young’ accompanied by a perfect finger tapping solo, with more energy than what you can shake a stick at, the tune forges your mind into their world, and it is a good place to be. There is just so much classic metal, ‘Bound to the Stake’ and ‘Witch Trial’ for instance; it’s hard to come out of the zone that you get into when listening to this album. This has already become one of my favourite albums of the year and it is only February. I just cannot help being filled with joy when these tracks are spinning. When this is released, buy it, hopefully Cauldron will be back to these shores again for some live dates, but until then, lose yourself in the true heavy metal of Cauldron on their website. Cut of your denim sleeves, strap on your bullet belt, raise your fist and get into the infectious sounds of this classy Canadian band.
http://www.myspace.com/cauldronmetal
http://www.earache.com
