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Armour: Armour Heavy Metal Hell's Headbangers, Primitive Reaction March 2nd, 2010
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Review
Armour is the self titled debut album from the band of the same name, which is headed by rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist Vince Venom. Yes, this is yet another one of his many projects that the man either started, or has become involved with in some way. This brings the list of bands this individual has ties with from either being currently involved, or formerly involved with, to seventeen. Of course, out of all the band's, this is easily the most shocking, having a very 80's Heavy Metal feel to the music with vocals that stereotype U.D.O. and Judas Priest well. This isn't to say that Armour is a terrible band. In fact, it's very eclectic and well done. Much of the material on here sounds as if you had stepped right back into the eighties with your leather pants for a Metal concert. The only problem that holds the music back at all is the vocals that can sometimes feel as if there is just no real effort in them, such as in "Can't Resist Your Spell" aside the higher pitched note hit prior to the guitar solo, as well as some of the rather lame lyrical writing that appears throughout. "Sex Demon" is a great track to present to the latter issue thanks to the amateurish writing that appears throughout, mostly during the chorus. As stated, Armour is not a bad release. The vocals are your standard higher pitched singing, and musically the album ranges from some faster material that will have your head banging, such as "Hellfire" and even the anthem-esque "Rock'n'Roll Tonight" and "The Time is Right", to slower paced tracks that border on being ballads like "Can't Resist Your Spell". There's nothing too out of the ordinary here, as much of the material presented on this album is about what you would expect from a band back in the day. The addition of some lower vocals, almost spoken in a commanding way, here and there on some of the songs adds a nice little extra layer to the overall enjoyment of Armour as well, and really the only aspect that seems to stick out from all the traditional aspects that are found on the release. The background vocals that appear are also entertaining, such as those that appear on "Ready to Attack" that really just make the song, as well as gang vocals being chanted in the background of the more anthem tracks and really helps out, especially with the heavier closing track "Heavy Metal Drinkers" that is the best song off the entire release. While Armour is far from an original band, they do play the traditional Heavy Metal sound well, and that's what really counts on this release. While "Sex Demon" seems to pull a bit of influence from AC/DC with the track "Stiff Upper Lip", much of the album is very enjoyable and is really shrouded in the sound of the eighties Heavy Metal scene. Armour may not stick with you at first, but given a few more spins you will grow to appreciate the overall feel of the album and what it brings to the table: Solid Heavy Metal bliss.
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