Cyclone Empire/Sound Pollution
Formerly known as DEVASTATOR, this straightforward band admits to being in for a rocky ride by naming themselves after being in a BLESSED CURSE situation. The trio of Tyler Satterlee, guitars/vocals, Derek Bean, bass, and Patrick Hamby, drums have been at it since 2001, first as ATROSITY, well, well, and now as a descriptive title. Two EP´s, two demos, the latter two reused here and recorded with Juan Urteaga of EXODUS and HEATHEN fame. For fans of a.o. TESTAMENT and DEATH ANGEL says the info, sounds promising…
Gaaaah! “Bleeding Cross” sets the pace right from the start. Riffs galore and a fine solo go straight for the throat, lovely. The grooves are always there, they may hail from California but the tag Bay Area is inevitable. Not least with a voice so close to Chuck Billy and with touches of James Hetfield in the days of old. The refrains are there, but not emphasized enough at times. Remember what made EXODUS, TESTAMENT et al big… The sing-along friendly “March of the Wicked” cures that somewhat but the best is yet to come. “Rise of the Undead” might lean a bit in the death direction, but its sheer punch has me headbanging. The same goes for the oddly refrain-less “The Devil´s Mark”, that is pressure to the max. The ending of “Eternal Hate/Blessed Curse” and former EP title track “Burn the Beast” leaves me wanting more. Unfortunately they included the patchy “Something Evil” and the somewhat pointless “Feasting Witch”, otherwise the maximum mark would have been awarded.
Track list
Bleeding Cross
Hellraisers
Demon Dance
Slaughtered Like Pigs
March of the Wicked
Carpathian Mist
Rise of the Undead
Feasting Witch
The Devil´s Mark
Something Evil
Eternal Hate/Blessed Curse
Burn the Beast
www.cycloneempire.com www.myspace.com/devastatorblast
