Reviews roundup – Sintasia vs. Brad Schecter vs. Akasha

Reviews roundup – Sintasia vs. Brad Schecter vs. Akasha

SINTASIA
No Looking Back
Sintasia Records

We’re kicking things off in Northern Ireland today, with a newly formed beat combo by the name of Sintasia. To be fair, they’ve got a wee bit of form in other bands, but to get your band up and running, and then pump out a nine track album in the space of a few months shows a commendable attitude.

They seem to be getting tagged as alt-rock, so either I’m getting fuzzy in the head, or they’re a bit embarrassed about the metal, because it’s the metal that I hear here. Granted, it’s more Black Album than it is Master of Puppets, but when you hear the hard-edged riffs on offer, you’ll probably go there as well.

That’s what you’ll get if you dip into the likes of ‘Awaken’, Finding The One’, ‘Hero’ and ‘Manipulation’, and even if things do tail off towards the end of the record, it’s a very interesting statement of intent from a band who could have what it takes.

BUY AT AMAZON
BRAD SCHECTER
Live Your Dreams
independent

Off to the American colonies now, and the debut album from Brad Schecter. He’s been in and around metal bands over the years, and will happily tell you that Iron Maiden are his favourite band, but this shows a different side.

It’s melancholy, mid paced, melodic rock that he’s offering up, and it actually works well, as he has a strong voice that seems well suited to this style. Maybe it’s as a result of accidentally meeting Phil Collen from Def Leppard, before going on to jam and record with him. Who knows?

Either way, this is a strong album, that manages to throw some complex arrangements into the middle of straightforward songs, without losing impact. Nice trick, that. There are a few tunes worth hearing here, with the best of the bunch, probably ‘Blind Eye’, ‘Another Day’ and ‘Just in Case’.

BUY AT AMAZON
AKASHA
Revoluciones
independent

Finally, for today, it’s Costa Rica calling. And that call has come from Akasha, who seem to be one of the premier metal bands over there in wherever Costa Rica is. They’ve been on the go for a while, chocking up multiple awards in their native country, as well as touring across Latin America.

And it seems that Latin America does like a bit of nu-metal, as I’m hearing an awful lot of it here. Now, don’t go running away, because it wasn’t all bad, and if you still have POD and Disturbed albums hidden away at the back of your record collection, then you shouldn’t be shy about giving this a go.

I’m not entirely sure what they’re on about, as my Spanish is almost as good as My English, but they play up a storm on tunes like ‘Cenizas Y Fuego’, ‘Nunca Más’ and ‘Entre Memorias Y Recuerdos’. Worth a punt if you’re looking for something a wee bit different.

BUY AT AMAZON