Devil Cross 🇺🇸/🇨🇦 This mortal coil
3 min read
Band: Devil Cross
Title: This Mortal Coil
Label: Fighter Records
Release date: 07 December 2021
Country: USA/Canada
Format reviewed: High-quality Digital Recording
Sometimes I just don’t get enough from bands that seem to live in a perpetual 80’s nostalgia, musically speaking. That’s why Devil Cross caught my attention since the first song I listened to from them. This is a new band that comes from Canada, and their sound is… well, pure 80’s Heavy Metal with a bit of Speed at times and some punk attitude. Yeah, that’s the way to do it, you just need to check it!
The musicians in Devil Cross are not newcomers in the Metal scene. There’s Jo Capitalicide (Jo Steel) at vocals and bass, and this man is involved in so many bands and solo projects that I simply lost count! Just to name some: Jo does everything at Ice War, Spectral Dance, he is also in Expunged, Cannibal, Aphrodite, he was in Bastardator, Iron Dogs and the list goes on. Trevor William Church is the man at percussion, he is in the Heavy Metal band Haunt, in Beastmaker, and he played drums in the album “Computer Warrior” by Oath. And there’s Brennan Whitworth, who is in charge of the 6 strings instrument; he plays in Aphrodite and in Cannibal too, along with Jo.
Now that I introduced the band members to you, let me tell you about their music. Devil Cross plays Old School Heavy Metal, don’t expect anything new from this genre of course; the album is really enjoyable, well played, where guitars have a prominent role, playing from classic riffs to some great solos, Mr. Whitworth is not shy at showing his talents. Vocally, Jo has a punk-ish style that fits perfectly an album like this, with his limitations at vocal range but as I’ve said, totally fitting. Drums do their work all through the songs, Trevor does a very efficient performance, compelling and maintaining a very good pace all the time.
You can find galloping guitars in “Dark Spirits”, in this song you can feel that “rebel attitude” I was talking about before. It has something of uncompromise, savage feel, with that audible bass that totally does the trick, and it’s a perfect theme for singing along. Enjoyable “ooh ooh ooh oooooh oooooh” choruses and a fantastic guitar solo underlining that passage in “Crush Kill”, like a Heavy Metal anthem, a perfect song to play live and keep the audience with their fists in the air and craving for the next song. “Slayer of Dragons” is a bit more sped up theme, with an outstanding solo, I really love the predominance of guitar throughout the album, and I think that the tone is really suitable too. A very skilled solo in “Dig your own Grave” too, even if the song turns a bit repetitive at the end.
To sum up: a really good album with all the elements to enjoy if you are a Heavy Metal maniac or simply a Metal lover. I recommend it to anyone, but more especially to the 80’s nostalgics. A 7,5/10 for me Sílvia
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