NIGHT ON BRÖCKEN

This record has IRON MAIDEN all over it. From the vocals of John Arch to the galloping rhythm to a picture of the drummer in the liner notes wearing an IRON MAIDEN t-shirt to the bonus track of them covering "Flight of Icarus". This is FATES WARNING's first record and they made quite an impression on me with the raw sound and the dark lyrics.

"Buried Alive" assaults you right away with fast riffs and pounding drums. The guitar solos are relentless. And the vocals are so strong and powerful. "The Calling" is one of my least favourites, but it opens with a galloping rhythm and the guitar has a SABBATH tone to it. Jim lets loose with a scathing guitar solo. "Kiss Of Death" is a well done, melodic, MAIDEN sounding tune. Arch's singing is on another level ! "Night On BrocKen" is another pedal to the floor boards, flat out rocker. For the first time on the record the melody slows down and it's appreciated as the guitars slowly grind and Arch is singing his heart out. "S.E.K." is a short, acoustic instrumental. "Misfit" features some nice riffs and scorching guitar melodies while Arch's vocals are second to no one. "Shadowfax" is a mid paced instrumental for 2 minutes before speeding up, excellent drumming on this one. "Damnation" is the first slow paced song. This one is so emotional and beautiful until about 2 1/2 minutes in when all hell breaks loose with head banging riffs and John wailing. This is my favourite on the record. "Soldier Boy" has again a galloping rhythm and does Arch ever sound like Bruce Dickinson here, great guitar too as this one just smolders. The band hasn't found their own sound yet on this record, but it's still excellent none the less.