Artist: Powerful
Label: My Graveyard Production
Release: 2007
Rating: 2.5/5
Powerful from Italy are trying to bring metal crowds a fresh take on a blend of classic heavy metal elements crossed with the old school thrash/speed metal that grew up in sunny California in the mid-eighties. Nothing new, then. What makes it interesting is that these guys are doing it from Italy. That the lads have a thing for genetics is proven by the album cover, with its double DNA helix – in plain farmer’s talk, the “stuff chromosomes are made of”.
The song Powerful immediately announces that these guys have plenty of miles on the clock and are perfectly adapted to life in metal waters. Powerful bring a dirty, live sound and can land a riff that’s both venomous and punchy enough to grab your attention. In all the time spent grinding away at their instruments and abusing microphones, the guys have clearly gotten to know each other well, because the communication between the parts is tight and tastefully polished.
In some passages, especially the instrumental middle sections, the guys let on that they either once played in a Helloween “cover” band, with fast harmonic picking over the riffs, or that they’re Judas Priest fans, with a cannon-fire double foot “Painkiller” backing under the blunt, clipped riffs of Fighting To Learn or Screaming For Blood. The gang shouts in the choruses, dizzying shredding and a healthy dose of half-step bending bring in the hot hell of “retro eighties” California thrash metal. The most successful spark from crossing old-fashioned Euro metal melody with the American kind is captured in Dream Of A Freedom Day, graced with an outstanding instrumental middle section built from multi-part solos by both guitarists, hair-splittingly precise, fast and fluid in the style of K.K. Downing/Glenn Tipton. Alternative Life is one of the album’s real “gems”. It tries to “split hairs” with the vocal lines like Warrel Dane (Nevermore), but better not ask how that turns out. Very immature. The most rage and that old school speed/thrash rattle can be found in the closer We Play Super Metal, which wraps up the album with its direct, highly dynamic gallop in a way that’s quite fitting, demanding a spew of fury, arrogance and defiance. A nice “see you in hell” for the album.
The one cross to bear, the thing keeping the guys from earning nothing but praise, is down to the vocals, which at times sound like they can’t make up their own mind about how they actually want to express themselves. He mostly uses mid-range lines, from which he likes to jump into ultra-high Halfordisms, and at times even pulls off Warrel Dane back when he still had that extreme high voice from his Sanctuary days. Even so, he suffers from a lack of identity and weakness in the mid and low registers, where he ends up too thin and lost in the sheer tonnage of the rolling riffs and the clatter of the rhythm lines. Another flaw is that the singer overcomplicates the lines far too much, as if he wanted to test the whole range of his vocal skills within the running time of every single song. A bit more clear direction on this point would do the whole band good.
Powerful’s debut is still a very interesting album, especially thanks to the excellent technical playing, fluidly constructed riffs, great old school soloing and high dynamics. No sugar, no symphonics, no pomp. Just strictly speaking lumberjacking that shows no great mercy to ears not used to the sharp edge of a speed/thrash blade. The weak vocals and the occasionally ill-chosen singing lines rob the album of some of the drive and flow that the instruments otherwise convincingly establish. A lot could be salvaged here with proper production.
Not bad, but the band still has reserves in the tank, so we can definitely expect an upgrade on the debut. The level of all the role models Powerful draw from, though, remains far out of reach, and next to those models, “Welcome To The Slaughter House” is nothing more than thrash/heavy metal for beggars.
Lineup
Alexander Hate – vocals
Diego – guitar
David – guitar
LeoLang Wild – bass
Paolo Campi – drums
Tracklist
1. Powerful
2. Self Destruction
3. Fighting to Learn
4. Just Leave Me Alone
5. Listen to Me
6. Alternative Life
7. Screams of Blood
8. Welcome to the Slaughterhouse
9. Dream of a Freedom Day
10. We Play Super Metal
