Soul Stealer - s/t 3.5/5
Reviewed: 10-10-08
Tracklist:
1. Viskas, kas turipradzia
2. Padek isnykti
3. The reaper
4. Brolis uz brolj
5. Vampire woman
6. Dar nevelu
7. Be sparnu
8. Liudesio miestas
9. Plastake
10. Too heavy
|
The last few years I've been more open to getting into non-English-language bands, so I recently picked up the 's/t' debut from Soul Stealer, a Lithuanian-language band that's located in Vilnius, Lithuania. They were originally created as Soul Brothers (in 2003), but eventually changed their name and they signed with the fairly small label Ledo Takas for the release of this debut, a label that mostly deals with black metal bands, and to my knowledge, Soul Stealer is the first power metal band they've obtained.
This 's/t' debut contains 10 songs, and although they are mostly Lithuanian-language, there are 3 songs sung in English (the catchy track 3 "The reaper", the upbeat track 5 "Vampire woman" and the closer "Too heavy"). I must admit that it's nice to understand the lyrics in those songs, but there isn't a big overall difference from the songs that are sung in the band's native tongue. Vocalist Jeronimas Milius has your typical power metal voice, which is clear with range (occasionally high-pitched), and he provides a very solid performance. If you're a big fan of typical power metal vocalists, you'll dig this guy too.
Musically, Soul Stealer seems to connect the sounds of the Italian power metal bands like Vision Divine with the Scandinavian power metal bands like Sonata Arctica. Obviously, I could spit out a large number of comparisons, but if you can envision a band sitting in between Vision Divine and Sonata Arctica, you'll get the idea. Perhaps Power Quest is a good direct comparison however, and just like Power Quest, Soul Stealer offers up a lot of keys (courtesy of Vytautas Diskevicius), though they don't dominate the music and guitarist Enrikas Slavinskis is able to stay upfront with his somewhat simple yet catchy rhythms (a la Power Quest).
As you would expect from a typical power metal band like Soul Stealer, there is plenty of speed (more than enough to satisfy), some mid-paced/bouncy parts, and a few slow moments as well. The song variety is mixed up nicely and there aren't any songs that I don't like. My favorite songs are track 2 "Padek isnykti" and "Dar nevelu", and I guess it's a bit surprising that they're some of the Lithuanian-language songs. Regardless, the entire CD is consistent as far as quality and I consider this debut to be a great start for the band. So check them out, as although they're your typical power metal band in many ways, the fact that they're mostly a Lithuanian-language band provides something a bit different and maybe even refreshing.
CLINT
MORE REVIEWS... FULL REVIEWS
MORE REVIEWS BY CLINT... CLINT
MAIN -
A -
B -
C -
D -
E -
F -
G -
H -
I -
J -
K -
L -
M -
N -
O -
P -
Q -
R -
S -
T -
U -
V -
W -
X -
Y -
Z -
MISC
Email: metalcdratings@yahoo.com
