Review by Greg on June 25, 2024.

Can Serbia ever run out of killer thrash metal bands? While I'm too busy finding more and more of them to think of an answer – wait, maybe that should be enough to make me tend towards a 'no' – here is another addition to that still indefinite list, although off to a rather unimpressive start. Kobold is the brainchild of mastermind Elio Rigonat, who I'm expecting to be a peculiar character under many aspects, and his voice couldn't help but follow suit, I guess. Now, we're talking about a band I hold in the highest of regards in terms of originality, so it saddens me to reduce the whole stuff to a make-or-break experience with the vocals, but, well, his extremely John Connelly-esque inflection can really result insufferable in the long run, meaning it's gonna be the most divisive feature of this debut Death Parade – of all their albums really, but here he's even more unrestrained and (spoiler alert) it's the only one where there isn't a shitload of boner-worthy material to make up for it, which surely makes a huge difference, in the grand scheme of things.

Although the man is also in charge of the guitars, and it's another story altogether. More than the solos, channeling the over-the-top shredding of the late Mike Scaccia (not least due to the absence of the rhythm guitar) but lacking a great deal of variety, it's the riffs that shine, thanks to their certain off-kilter quality he always manages to convey. Even in such an early, unrefined phase, tracks such as the first three, or later highlight 'Thrill For Speed' still offer that extra oomph necessary to stand out from the pack. The immediately recognizable massive guitar crunch of Luka Matković's Citadela Studios is also an undisputed plus for a debut album, for sure... although the other side of the coin is the just as predictable prominent space awarded to the vocals.

Death Parade's biggest downside, though, isn't the vocal performance. Many of its songs are fired at extremely similar tempos and are basically indistinguishable, to the point that the middle songs are honestly tiresome to sit through after all that came before. And 54 minutes are waaay too many under these premises, although they give the album time to switch to a mostly speed-esque, Ranger-meets-early Fog of War vibe you might have been expecting from the last mentioned title above, approximately from 'Ministry Of Propaganda' onward, and the Exciter cover at the end finally makes perfect sense. Given that Kobold have become personal synonyms for interesting as fuck thrash metal, it's quite a pity. Maybe it needed a little more time in the oven, to axe some of the most similar tracks and maybe attempt something more different... more often. Yeah, because the formula does vary at some point, but so much and so abruptly that it almost sounds like another band was featured. Indeed, 'I, Icarus' is an infectious ultra-melodic number with everybody taking a step back and letting the guitar lines speak, for once, with Rigonat even, gasp, singing? Conversely, 'When the Eyes Turn Inwards' is a decidedly more blackened number. Sounds strange? It really shouldn't, since both are tropes that would be put to full use in subsequent albums, but sure, here they're no more than a pair of very good outliers, that also have the side effect of making the return to several more conventional tracks feel like a merciless, inevitable decline.

Overall, Death Parade would be a decent first album for many bands around, but you can believe me when I say it's a rather underwhelming experience, with the hindsight of the three (as of this writing) works that followed. The first half warrants a listen, and I'm seriously considering putting 'I, Icarus' in my ever-growing car playlist, but if you were to listen to a single Kobold album in your lifetime – well I wouldn't envy you but who knows – make it one of the others.

Rating: 6.4 out of 10

Review by Felix on May 9, 2019.

Liege Lord from Stamford belonged to the likeable fools who thought it is sufficient to release simply good music in order to become a well-known and respected band. How naive! They never took care of a unique image and Burn to My Touch provides the painful evidence that they even did not understand the importance of an adequate artwork. Of course, many pioneering formations were not immune against kitschy fantasy covers, but this anti-aesthetic, multi-colored crime almost takes the cake. I am always at risk to lose my sight whenever I take a close look at it. However, the real tragic here is that the vinyl did not even house good music.

It is therefore definitely not the guilt of the awful artwork that the second album of the band has remained the weak point of its short existence. The playtime of only 30 minutes indicates either a production which came to soon or a lack of ideas - and unfortunately, these alternatives are not musically exclusive. The brief numbers cannot be deemed as insubstantial, but great ideas are missing as well. Most songs do not show a central theme, they are not driven by bulky riffs, nevertheless, they are far away from any kind of earworm. The entire A side leaves a pretty lackluster, somehow ill-defined impression. The comparatively lackadaisical pieces do no harm, but where is the drive of songs such as "Wielding Iron Fists" or "Dark Tale"? Especially these tracks pushed the debut on a pretty good level. Here we just have a collection of unimaginative numbers that pass by like a shy child. I thought that the band likes to perform further songs that knock on the door of thrash, but here we have mid-paced run-of-the-mill metal with some epic, traditional and mystic elements. And the fact that the lead vocalist has an affinity for relatively thin high-pitched screams does not make things better as well.

I am quite sure that Liege Lord did not lack integrity. Furthermore, the instrumental has some solidly galloping guitars and the opener of the B side, "Black Lit Knights", reveals more edges and corners than the complete first half. These are just two examples that Liege Lord still know how to write pretty decent tracks. Nevertheless, the feeble (low-budget?) production allies itself with the more or less unimposing material and so Liege Lord were sidelined by the strong and countless competitors of these times. That's a pity, because the really strong closer "Speed of Sound" with its memorable chorus and its swift drumming illustrates that it would have been possible to pen a much better full-length. But Liege Lord tried to play a strange form of powerless power metal and missed the chance to take the next level after their promising debut. Not to mention their masterpiece Master Control with another lead vocalist and much more aggressive tunes. Don't think that Burn to My Touch will make your day, solely because Master Control has entered your heavy rotation. Despite its name, the here reviewed work has absolutely no fiery details and therefore I only recommend it to those freaks who cannot sleep until their Liege Lord collection is complete.

Rating: 5.4 out of 10

Review by Felix on May 9, 2019.

Liege Lord from Stamford belonged to the likeable fools who thought it is sufficient to release simply good music in order to become a well-known and respected band. How naive! They never took care of a unique image and Burn to My Touch provides the painful evidence that they even did not understand the importance of an adequate artwork. Of course, many pioneering formations were not immune against kitschy fantasy covers, but this anti-aesthetic, multi-colored crime almost takes the cake. I am always at risk to lose my sight whenever I take a close look at it. However, the real tragic here is that the vinyl did not even house good music.

It is therefore definitely not the guilt of the awful artwork that the second album of the band has remained the weak point of its short existence. The playtime of only 30 minutes indicates either a production which came to soon or a lack of ideas - and unfortunately, these alternatives are not musically exclusive. The brief numbers cannot be deemed as insubstantial, but great ideas are missing as well. Most songs do not show a central theme, they are not driven by bulky riffs, nevertheless, they are far away from any kind of earworm. The entire A side leaves a pretty lackluster, somehow ill-defined impression. The comparatively lackadaisical pieces do no harm, but where is the drive of songs such as "Wielding Iron Fists" or "Dark Tale"? Especially these tracks pushed the debut on a pretty good level. Here we just have a collection of unimaginative numbers that pass by like a shy child. I thought that the band likes to perform further songs that knock on the door of thrash, but here we have mid-paced run-of-the-mill metal with some epic, traditional and mystic elements. And the fact that the lead vocalist has an affinity for relatively thin high-pitched screams does not make things better as well.

I am quite sure that Liege Lord did not lack integrity. Furthermore, the instrumental has some solidly galloping guitars and the opener of the B side, "Black Lit Knights", reveals more edges and corners than the complete first half. These are just two examples that Liege Lord still know how to write pretty decent tracks. Nevertheless, the feeble (low-budget?) production allies itself with the more or less unimposing material and so Liege Lord were sidelined by the strong and countless competitors of these times. That's a pity, because the really strong closer "Speed of Sound" with its memorable chorus and its swift drumming illustrates that it would have been possible to pen a much better full-length. But Liege Lord tried to play a strange form of powerless power metal and missed the chance to take the next level after their promising debut. Not to mention their masterpiece Master Control with another lead vocalist and much more aggressive tunes. Don't think that Burn to My Touch will make your day, solely because Master Control has entered your heavy rotation. Despite its name, the here reviewed work has absolutely no fiery details and therefore I only recommend it to those freaks who cannot sleep until their Liege Lord collection is complete.

Rating: 5.4 out of 10

Review by Felix on May 9, 2019.

Liege Lord from Stamford belonged to the likeable fools who thought it is sufficient to release simply good music in order to become a well-known and respected band. How naive! They never took care of a unique image and Burn to My Touch provides the painful evidence that they even did not understand the importance of an adequate artwork. Of course, many pioneering formations were not immune against kitschy fantasy covers, but this anti-aesthetic, multi-colored crime almost takes the cake. I am always at risk to lose my sight whenever I take a close look at it. However, the real tragic here is that the vinyl did not even house good music.

It is therefore definitely not the guilt of the awful artwork that the second album of the band has remained the weak point of its short existence. The playtime of only 30 minutes indicates either a production which came to soon or a lack of ideas - and unfortunately, these alternatives are not musically exclusive. The brief numbers cannot be deemed as insubstantial, but great ideas are missing as well. Most songs do not show a central theme, they are not driven by bulky riffs, nevertheless, they are far away from any kind of earworm. The entire A side leaves a pretty lackluster, somehow ill-defined impression. The comparatively lackadaisical pieces do no harm, but where is the drive of songs such as "Wielding Iron Fists" or "Dark Tale"? Especially these tracks pushed the debut on a pretty good level. Here we just have a collection of unimaginative numbers that pass by like a shy child. I thought that the band likes to perform further songs that knock on the door of thrash, but here we have mid-paced run-of-the-mill metal with some epic, traditional and mystic elements. And the fact that the lead vocalist has an affinity for relatively thin high-pitched screams does not make things better as well.

I am quite sure that Liege Lord did not lack integrity. Furthermore, the instrumental has some solidly galloping guitars and the opener of the B side, "Black Lit Knights", reveals more edges and corners than the complete first half. These are just two examples that Liege Lord still know how to write pretty decent tracks. Nevertheless, the feeble (low-budget?) production allies itself with the more or less unimposing material and so Liege Lord were sidelined by the strong and countless competitors of these times. That's a pity, because the really strong closer "Speed of Sound" with its memorable chorus and its swift drumming illustrates that it would have been possible to pen a much better full-length. But Liege Lord tried to play a strange form of powerless power metal and missed the chance to take the next level after their promising debut. Not to mention their masterpiece Master Control with another lead vocalist and much more aggressive tunes. Don't think that Burn to My Touch will make your day, solely because Master Control has entered your heavy rotation. Despite its name, the here reviewed work has absolutely no fiery details and therefore I only recommend it to those freaks who cannot sleep until their Liege Lord collection is complete.

Rating: 5.4 out of 10