ANSWER WITH METAL, as silly as their name sounds, deliver an incredibly entertaining album in “
Centralia”. Coming out of Stoufville, Ontario, I never thought I would a hear a revival of the 80's sound today. It’s a classic 80's styled metal album that blends power and thrash elements to it that surprised the hell out of me. I can honestly say I thought this would be a sort of joke/parody band, but I was wrong.
I was immediately transfixed with the blending of the 80's and current power metal that really got me going. “
No Ones to Own” starts with a very thrashy sound to it but brings in a more 80's sound to it. Complete with the wailing vocals that made the 80's glam metal so fun. I would say
ANSWER WITH METAL is what
Pantera sounded like before they became the southern metal giants. I know that a lot of people find the style cheesy, especially in these days, but I had a good time listening to the album. “
Wild Hunt” follows suit with starting in a very Thrashy way, but there is a different kind of power metal feel to this track. I love the blending of the fastness of the drumming and guitar, but it still holds true to that 80's sound with the chanting vocals. I couldn’t stop headbanging to this one.
There is an impressive guitar solo that accompanies the track as well. “
Stand and Fight” has that same 80's style to it but in this one I hear some small measure of folk/power metal style in it as well. It is a weird thing to me to hear the 80's style, but the style is being infused with more current sounding metal sub-genres that brings a freshness to it. It just seems to work on every level. I also hear some folk/power metal type cadence in “
Centralia”, another incredibly fun track to listen to. Coupled with the same
Bruce Dickinson-like vocals and some more impressive guitar work. “
Don’t Know Why” has an increase in the production value for the vocals, and well, the whole track. The vocals seem to come in a lot higher than the other tracks. The tempo of the song has a very big power metal style to it. I would say it is probably one of my more favorite tracks off the album. I love how “
No Heights a Home” just comes in with a pure thrash sound. It is fast from beginning to end, but you still get those wailing vocals.
If you can see past the idea of just pegging “
Centralia” as a simple 80's style album, you’ll be able to hear all the other nuances that
ANSWER WITH METAL throw in, and I am sure you will appreciate it as well. Give this one a listen and reawaken your love for that throwback metal sound.
Songwriting: 8
Originality: 8
Memorability: 9
Production: 7