Apoch's Metal Review - Untimely Demise: City of Steel CD Review

Discography	Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed.
Full-Length(s):	City of Steel (2010)
EP(s):	Full Speed Metal (2009)

Review

Canadian Thrash Metal act Untimely Demise finally see a North American release for their debut album, City of Steel. Thanks to Sonic Unyon, this hidden Thrash gem finally migrates roughly one year after it's release. While it may not be the most recent of albums to finally be shipped into another continent, especially here in the States, it's just great to finally have the ability to purchase this album domestically. But, does having this option mean City of Steel is well worth picking up at this point?

City of Steel has a pretty good audio quality. The music sounds pretty heavy and deep, benefitting from the louder bass that you're able to feel, though it's not that loud making it more of a dull roar as far as the physical vibrations from the bass are concerned through a respectable volume level. The guitars have a bit of a sharpness to them, being that higher pitched sound that you would find on a modern day Thrash album, and that louder bass works well to help make it sound pretty heavy. The bass kicks of the drum kit have a good thud that borders on the line of also having more of a click, the snares are loud and sound full moreso then have a good banging quality, and the cymbols are a little low but they get the job done when they crash and are allowed to ring out instead of being stopped immediately or closed off. The vocals here are actually really varied yet vaguely familiar. The album starts with "Virtue in Death" which sounds like U.D.O. or Udo-era Accept-like vocals mixed with the modern vocals of Exodus, really having more of a nasally higher back-of-the-throat style, but then you happen on tracks like "Streets of Vice" where you can't help but feel that Exodus approach but with a more harmonized Kreator sound to them.

The music to City of Steel is also rather varied, but not quite as much as the vocals are. "Virtue in Death" starts the album off with a more intense, faster paced commanding performance with the aforementioned U.D.O.-esque vocals. The song itself actually comes off a bit like a more Thrash oriented 3 Inches of Blood without the higher falsettos, but that's just a very odd comparison you can make with it. The vocals sound energetic, but they never go past that lower forced sound other then to go into a rhaspier growling style that goes off and on throughout the track, and seems to never really appear again. But even that is to a low, more restrained approach, never reaching a higher pitch or having a more enthusiastic performance to it outside the chorus. The commanding sound does eventually give way to some more catchier, melodic moments scattered about, again mostly in the chorus. This more intense track doesn't really put the band's best foot forward, but it's still a strong track with music that can easily whip you into a frenzy, has some short but sweet solos, strong one-man gang chants that later go into guttural territories at times, and does highlight the skill of the band musically, and what the vocalist can be capable of. Of course, the vocals pick up immediately after this with "Hunting Evil" thanks to that more Exodus-oriented performance that better suits the heavier Thrash music that, again feels Exodus influenced and has a slight hint of melody to it's heavier material that often does build up nicely into more epic and even melodic Heavy Metal directions that the band does pull back from for some reason.

And with "Hunting Evil," the album is essentially set up. Much of City of Steel seems to follow this template, though there are some more heavily melodic moments throughout the album such as in that song that can come off a little Shadows Fall-ish, but never really hit that level or start belting out clean vocals. "Unmaker" does make for one of the more stand out tracks of the album, but that's more due to the overall performance. The song isn't really all that different from the rest of the material on here outside of "Virtue in Death", but the energy the builds in the band throughout the song is really stunning, especially towards the end. The song actually picks up a more victorious kind of atmosphere and sound to it as well towards the closing, and it's just phenomenal to hear with the lyrical content of the album, even just that song, suiting it nicely in the end. "Forget of Belief" also throws some variety the listener's way with a more Heavy Metal sounding start and impressive guitar solo before hammering into a furious Thrash track that leaves behind the Exodus impression and falls back to "Virtue in Death", but with a far more energetic vocal performance that even goes into some gutturals, as well as some shouting. But, while there's so much variety to this track, there's also just too much going on vocally and it tends to feel a bit too off-the-wall for the sound more authoritive atmosphere you pull from this band and their material.

There really isn't much to be said about this release honestly. Untimely Demise clearly put their souls into a solid recording, and while much of it sounds like an homage to Exodus, the band does a good job at trying to maintain an original sound, which they do a good job at. Though the vocals can sometimes get a little too varied and the first track here is far from the best representation of the album aside the somewhat similar "Forget of Belief," this effort puts together a solid and heavy modern audio quality Thrash album of quality material, even for the two songs that sound out of place. If you're a fan of the style, there's really no reason at all why you should pass up on checking out Untimely Demise's debut album City of Steel.

Digital review copy of this release provided by:
Sonic Unyon
via Earsplit PR.

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