| Fire And Steel 1 MC 1996 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Label: Warrior's Lament Zine | cat#: - | ||||
| All-Greek underground compilation issued by Warrior's Lament Zine with focus on traditional styles (Heavy, Power, Epic, Doom, you name it…) | |||||
CONTENT
bold = exclusive track / normal = non-exclusive track / = non-metal
Side A:
- DREAM WEAVER – "Bright Fading Past" (taken from: "Dream Within a Dream" (Demo, 1995))
Mid-tempo HM/PM with an excellent main theme. Arguably one of DREAM WEAVER's heaviest songs. - ACRITES – "Wake up Alexander" (taken from: "Acrites" (Demo, 1996))
Moving on to Cyprus, ACRITES presents to us a track extracted from one of their self-titled demos (they had at least two). Like the rest of the band's material, it's a rather unusual composition that sounds a bit like Leonard Cohen taking a stab at Epic Heavy Metal – at least during the first half of the song. - SOLEMN OATH – "Almouric" (taken from: "Promo '96" (Demo, 1996))
Apparently BATTLEROAR weren't the first Greek band to write a song about Robert E. Howard's classic sci-fi/fantasy novel. As the name hints at, SOLEMN OATH plays in a Doom-oriented style. Not bad, although we could've done without the Hetfield-esque vocals. - DESERTOMEN – "Mythology" (taken from: "Desertomen" (Demo, 1996))
Perhaps not the brightest moment of this otherwise promising Heavy/Power act, but the lengthy and keyboard-enhanced instrumental section is pretty neat. - THUNDERING SILENCE – "Blind Keeper" (taken from: "Castle of the Black Dragon" (Demo, 1996))
Light-weight Epic Heavy Metal (sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it?) with keyboard pads and occasionally out-of-tune vocals during the highest pitched notes. Not without its charm though and with a cover like the one adorning T.S.'s 1996 demo "Castle of the Black Dragon" you're ready to forgive any potential weak spots. - BLACK SUN – "Dreamland" (taken from: "Through Storm We Ride" (Demo, 1996))
Most definitely the best song from BLACK SUN's early demo period. Despite the overall weak sound, the quality inherent to the actual composition shines brightly.
Side B:
- SKYWARD – "Divided It Stands" (taken from: "Opposites Combined" (Demo, 1995))
Back in the mid-to-late 1990s, SKYWARD – featuring a young Bob Katsionis, among others – were one of Greece's most promising Melo-Progressive Heavy/Power Metal acts. This track features their "new" singer, Thomas "Keeper" Papaefstathiou of METAL SAGEN/MIRAGE. More professional than their previous material, yet personally I prefer their earliest stuff. Thomas's voice fits the band very well though, so let's not blame anything on him! - MIRAGE – "Mind's Imprisoned" (taken from: "Time to Win" (Demo, 1996))
This song comes from the first demo tape by Bob Katsioni's other band at the time, back when they had a female vocalist (the previously mentioned Thomas "Keeper" P. joined for the second demo). Underground Euro-Power which gains a unique sound much thanks to Bob's skills on the keyboard as well as the use of a female voice. Most importantly though, MIRAGE's music has a sense of bittersweet melancholy to it that helps to balance the sugariness inherent to the style. - ILLUSION – "Nightmare" (taken from: "The First Dream" (Demo, 1995))
Peppy NWOBHM-tinged Heavy Metal with a real earworm chorus. A pretty good mood-lifter if you ask me! - ILLUSIVE SANITY – "Fight for a Cause" (taken from: currently unknown)
Quite possibly a unique entry (at least we're not aware of any demo by this band). A bit reminiscent of NWOBHM this one as well, although with heavier riffing than ILLUSION's contribution above. However, the song kind of cuts short prematurely, which leaves an impression that this was still a work in progress. - ANCIENT OATH – "Curse in the Sky" (taken from: "Curse" (Demo, 1995))
Doomy Heavy Metal by this Ioanninan band. I must say I prefer the slightly more energetic live version included on the same demo. - ECLIPSE – "Silence" (taken from: "It's Still Alive" (Demo, 1996))
In my opinion a classic track for Hellenic Epic Heavy Metal (H.E.H.M.) The vocal melody is unforgettable.
Reviewed by Johan Pettersson
