OK, you lot this is a Power Metal EP. So those of you who can't stand Power Metal and are shuffling around at the back ready to snigger or mention 'cheese' please leave with the large gentleman holding the even larger sword.
Have they gone?
Good.
This here is the debut 3 track EP by new band Jade Lizard, formed by Polish guitarist and wannabee hero Jacob Ziemba when he moved UK-wards. How good is he? Well, joining him here are a bunch of guys who have cut their teeth in bands like Firewind (guest keyboard player Bob Katsionis), Heaven's Guardian (bassist Murilo Rassi), Adagio (singer Gus Monsanto) and worked with DragonForce amongst others (drummer Mauricio Chamucero). Ziemba also wrote and produced the affair so he's pretty much stepped up to the plate on this.
Any good?
Opening track 'Puppet Master' pretty much lays out the stall which amongst the things you'd expect offers more than a few surprises, too. For starters the guitar is a lot harder edged on the riff and is almost NWOBHM in its feel: Yep, we have grit here! And when Monsanto's vocals come in it stays; great voice but with a nice bit of gravel in there too to stop things getting too slick and saccharin. Classy talented guitar playing that should please any Rhapsody fans and a neat production that doesn't allow the keyboards to either die unnoticed or swamp the sound. Fine, the chorus edges towards that Sonata Arctica sound of harmony vocals and kick drums but it has far more balls and with some quite wonderful lead work and a total lack of the symphonic overload which is a real bonus. I'm actually impressed.
Weirdly it gets better. Next up 'Welcome To The Ball' is frankly a bit of a belter. Catchier song but with the low end drive still intact and even the wailing vocals sounding full of emotion not produced to death. The keyboards provide a rich backdrop but it's the touches of 80s metal in there with the merest hints of maybe the DragonForce of yore before they forgot to write songs in the way those leads breaks dance. But mostly it drives on with a nice hard bounce and turns into a bit of an earworm in a very good way.
Closer 'Cross the Line' is just different enough again. Another song with sweet but sharp hooks. It has touches of Nightwish maybe and is definitely dragged into 2010 and there are dashes of prog in tiny doses too. But even so I find so many of those great melodies from the melodic end of the very late 70s and early 80s like Toronto or the UKs Strangeways or even Touch poking through. There is just something about the class combined with clout that is really refreshing. Love it.
OK, it isn't perfect and this is only three songs, but I actually really want to hear the album now. If they can keep this level of song composition, not succumb to over producing the grit and bite away and turn in something under 50 minutes long, well I reckon they will be a name worth hunting down for anyone into their melodic or power metal fix. It made me wanna headbang far more than reach for my soddin' lighter and I haven't enjoyed any Power Metal as much since the first DragonForce album.
Shocked? Not as much as me. Thanks guys!
http://www.myspace.com/jade-lizard
Gizmo
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