REBEL PRIEST is a Rock N' Roll band that comes from the Great White North. They have a lot of energy in their songs and one thing that I find different is that their logo reminds of a Death Metal band and the artwork as well… but they aren't, so this was a good surprise to me. They have recently released their newest album "
R'Lyeh Heavy" and that's what we are going to talk about. The opening song from the album is "
The Summoning" which is an instrumental song that features a lot of guitar solo and cool grooves on the bass and drums. This song actually reminded me of the early days of
IRON MAIDEN.
"
Electric Lady" starts out with a cool guitar riff that is soon followed by the drums and it feels like a groovy sound. The vocals are impressive and they fit perfectly the kind of sound they make. I think that the bass could have been a little bit louder. "
Sleeping Like A Hangman" starts out with a cool drumming, groovy bass, a Hard Rock riff and screaming vocals. The bass lines are really cool and they lead the song in a very good way. The guitar solo is pretty cool and the vocal lines from the chorus are great. "Elm St" starts out in a faster way than the previous songs. It has a fast guitar riff and its more direct. The drums here are the classical sound from the style, but good. This song has a few different ambiances as it changes its dynamics a couple of times.
"
Snake Eyes" starts out with a beautiful clean guitar sound that reminded me of a western kind of movie, but it soon turns into a more aggressive sound. "Emperor" follows the same vibe from the previous one, clean guitar sounds and a good ambiance at the beginning. I thought that this song was a ballad as the vocals start in with a clearer technique and not so much of the drive. But well, don't get fooled as I did… it's totally Rock. "
Lighten The Load" starts out with cool drumming that is soon joined by some groovy and funky guitar riff and bass lines. It's funny because this song starts in a way, then it has a more Metal part with even some Thrash Metal kind of riffs for the solo and then it ends in a more Rock way.
"
Dead End World" starts out with a nice guitar riff that reminded me of
BRYAN ADAMS. This song has more energy and the guitar solo here is really inspiring and good. I liked the vocals here, as it showed that they can sound good even without the driving technique. "
Blade Runner (Bonus Track)" is the song that closes the album. It has a different mixing as I could hear. I'm not sure if they have recorded it at the same studio or just tried something different as its a bonus track. Well, it's a good song with a totally 80's vibe here. I think you are gonna like it.
REBEL PRIEST has written and released a good album. The songs sound a little bit similar, but that's not a problem as it doesn't get boring. I think that these guys have a lot more to show and the potential to improve as well. I can't wait to hear more from them. They deserve a try.
Songwriting: 8
Musicianship: 8
Originality: 8
Production: 8