Dangerdog Music Reviews :: © 1999 - 2023 Craig S Hartranft :: All Rights Reserved
No part of this this website, including design and music reviews,
may be reproduced in any form or by any means without
the prior written permission of the publisher.
- New Music Reviews
- |
- Archives
- |
- News
- |
- Submissions
- |
- About
- |
- |
New Music Reviews, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal, AOR, Alternative Rock, Alternative Metal
Recent Reviews
September 2023
- Rockett Love: Galactic Circus
- Kerrigan: Bloodmoon
- Taz: Shipwrecked, Vol 2
- Taz: Wake Up & Sweat, Vol 1
- Ronnie Romero: Too Many Lies, Too Many Masters
- The Flower Kings: Look At You Now
- Vega: Battlelines
- Blackbird Angels: Solsorte
- Primal Fear: Code Red
- Eclipse: Megalomanium
- Seventh Wonder: Mercy Falls (Reissue 2008/2023)
- Seventh Wonder: The Great Escape (Reissue 2010/2023)
August 2023
- Hurricane: Reconnected
- U.D.O.: Touchdown
- Streetlight: Ignition
- Sarayasign: The Lion's Road
- Neal Morse: The Dreamer - Joseph - Part One
- Rian: Wings
- Icon Of Sin: Legends
- Lancer: Tempest
- King Kobra: We Are Warriors
- Dark Sky: Signs Of The Time
- Hell In The Club: F.U.B.A.R.
- Kent Hilli: Nothing Left To Lose
July 2023
- Turkish Delight: Volume Two
- Winterstorm: Everfrost
- Scream Maker: Land Of Fire
- James Robledo: Broken Soul
- Houston: Relaunch III
- All For Metal: Legends
- Withering Scorn: Prophets Of Demise
- Bloodbound: Tales From The North
- Kikimora: For A Broken Dime
- Degreed: Public Address
June 2023
- Night Legion: Fight Or Fall
- Midnite City: In At The Deep End
- Pyramaze: Bloodlines
- Shakra: Invincible
- Vypera: Race Of Time
- Stardust: Kingdom Of Illusion
- Pride Of Lions: Dream Higher
- Joel Hoekstra's 13: Crash Of Life
- The Defiants: Drive
- Ray Alder: II
- Art Nation: Inception
- False Memories: Hybrid Ego System
Attackhead: Voices in the Dark (Reissue)
Attackhead: Voices in the Dark (Reissue)
Heavy/Thrash Metal
4.0/5.0
Twisted Hillbilly Records
Website
Facebook
Twitter
MySpace
by Craig Hartranft, 01.24.2011
At first I thought Attackhead was pulling my leg: the title track from Voices in the Dark is lame, filled with miscues and redundancy. Then I thought: these guys can't be serious. They mean well, trying to capture old school heavy metal circa 1983, but merely fumbling about. However, after an honest listen, there's more to hear than meets the ears.
Voices in the Dark was released independently in 2008, and received affirmation and airplay outside the United States. Moe Hillbilly of Knoxville's (TN) Twisted Hillbilly Records took notice and signed the band for a new recording. Attackhead opted to re-record Voices in the Dark. Twisted Hillbilly Records provided the funding and the shit cover art.
Attackhead wishes to invoke, or at least their PR material does, comparisons to Testament, Slayer, and Megadeth. I don't thinks so. Voices in the Dark is some form of old school thrash and speed metal mixed with NWOBHM, or something akin to it.
Passing over the intro and the title track, Attackhead delivers the goods. Heavy, mostly thrashy, equal parts melody and intensity, and some clever twists in their arrangements (if you have the ears to hear) make Voices in the Dark bona fide trip into the realms of true heavy metal. Infected, Lead the Blind, Tazer, and the nearly immaculate Blame are exceptional pieces. Forget the hardcore, harshness, dirty vocals, and useless violence of modern metal. The true spirit of heavy metal lives within the grooves of Attackhead's Voices in the Dark.
Surely, some listeners, mostly the uninformed modern metal with no sense of history, will not get the relevance and vibrancy of Attackhead's metal. Forget them. With songs like Blame and Dark Ritual pummeling you with speed, heaviness, and melody, there's no reason to consider the critics. Attackhead's Voices in the Dark is well recommended.
In Short
Surely, some listeners, mostly the uninformed modern metal with no sense of history, will not get the relevance and vibrancy of Attackhead's metal. Forget them. With songs like Blame and Dark Ritual pummeling you with speed, heaviness, and melody, there's no reason to consider the critics. Attackhead's Voices in the Dark is well recommended.
Find A Review
Alphabetical Index
Album of the Week
Formed in 1999 by singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Erik Martensson, Sweden's Eclipse is well into their third decade of making music. In the recent past, their recordings and reputation have ... [ Read More ]