Review Summary: A German heavy metal band fundamentally breaks any cohesion in quality that they might have achieved with their latest release. Details inside.
You’ll have to forgive me, because I’m a little giddy. We've got pretty much the perfect setup for a great musical experience with this band: they’re from Germany, they’re playing heavy metal, and they sing about Satanism, horror, and occultism. All we need to seal the deal here is an epic name, and we’re golden. So, what’re they called? Baphomet’s Bloody Blasphemers? Tiamat’s Twin Tormentors? Lucifer’s Lengthy Lacerated Licker?
Nope.
Attic. Fuc
kin’ hell, man, that’s Satanic as
shi
t.
The subject of this review is
”The Invocation”, Attic’s first full-length album, released in 2012. The vocals are straight out of Judas Priest – those glass-shattering police sirens that cause every pothead in the neighborhood to experience a sudden case of paranoia. While I really dig the classic vibe the singing gives off, I feel that some of the vocals are simply out of place. Try listening to Join the Coven without cringing. Not a fun thing to do, is it? Thankfully, most of the vocal moments on
"The Invocation" aren't ear-piercingly bad, but the fact that any of those moments are even enough to so much as annoy me is a sin. Fine-tune that sh
it, gentlemen, or face the wrath of Lucifer's Lengthy Lacerated Licker.
The guitars on
"The Invocation" are much more presentable overall, and compliment the good parts of the vocals just like any good instrumentation should. Attic take a more subtle approach with their fingerwork, as opposed to going overboard with complex riffs or slinging solos left and right, and it fits like a glove. Funeral in the Woods is the first proper track, and it is nothing less than five minutes of well-crafted melodies and shrieking vocals that you won't forget - Attic really show off their strengths in this opening song, and show that they're skilled musicians. Unfortunately, your memory's likely going to be soured if you continue listening to the rest of the album, because that's where Attic show most of their weaknesses. You're not in for a reprieve until you hit "The Headless Horseman", which leads me into my drum discussion quite nicely, because...
..."The Headless Horseman" is the first track where the drum fills aren't mindless beats done in a loop, and it shows that the drummer (or whoever thought up those fills) isn't completely mindless themselves. While you can argue that the vocals are supposed to grow on you, you can't make that argument for crappy drum fills and still be taken remotely seriously. I guess the band realized that and told their drummer to get off his ass and put in some work. Sh
it changes up quite a bit at the end of
"The Invocation", and they clearly saved their best efforts for the final track, "Evil Inheritance". There are brilliant guitar riffs and absolutely amazing vocal passages on this track, with a very well-executed drum fill to boot, but this just leaves me wondering... why? Why make an album start off strong, go to sh
it soon after, and come back at the end to surprise everyone with one of the best heavy metal tracks I've heard this year? Why don't you just make the entire album like you made the last song, and earn an award or something? What the fuc
k, man?
