The Wraith : "Gloom Ballet"

The first song made me think that this was the former singer of Bellicose Minds, it's actually the former singer of Lost Tribe, so post punk revival pedigree intact. more uptempo, though the do ride the line between post and punk and straight up punk. By punk I am still thinking of the cross roads where bands like TSOL dressed their sound up for Halloween. There a is a darker more Killing Joke like energy to the second song. All of the needed sounds are dialed in a pretty much where they need to be in the mix. The Bat Cave guitar tone is right there.  There are places where the bass could stand to come up in the mix , but production wise it's on even better footing the Lost Tribe albums.  a little more finesse on "Toil" as they back off on the punk vibes here.

If Idle Hands never heard the Cult then the results might be similar. "Of the Earth" doesn't do as much for me as the previous songs. "Pyro" is more aggressive , but also offers more dynamics than the previous song.  "Devils Serenade" is more along the lines of the Misfits ,but with a more rock n roll touch to it.  This is felt especially at the chorus, but it is a lot of fun. On "I Expire" the vocals are more sung than yelled . This helps add more dynamic texture to the overall sound. The guitars are also layered to there is more of a strum to them. They are back on the more punk track with "the Gift of Suffering". post-punk tension to it on the verse, before exploding out of the chorus.  The chords ring out in a more rock n roll fashion, with the palm muted tension returning again on "Barbed Wire" . It goes to the well with this formula too many times.

I am glad the vocals colors shifted a little on the last. The punk shouted vocal that sounded like Bellicose Minds was getting old, it is not the melodic shift of "I Expire" that I prefer, but I will take what I can get as by this point in the album I was in need of a dynamic shift, as it almost took on a one trick pony punk monochrome.  I will give this album an 8, if you like the more punk side of the Bellicose Minds you will dig this , and if you were a fan of Lost Tribe then this is a must.

Lost Tribe : "Solace"

For Bellicose Minds to have only preceded Lost Tribe by two years they certainly have had a big influence on them.The vocals are almost identical. The biggest difference is where Lost Tribe goes with the elecrtic guitar sounds and some of their use of synths. With that being said on songs like "Rise or Fall" they are rocking the fuck out a bit more.They might call them selves anarcho-punk  , but things like the heavy punk colors them closer to death rock, despite the fact these guys are more punk than death rock.The single not guitar melodies characteristic of older punk influenced goth are present and the use of synths has really progressed for this band.

They are moving in the direction of having a distinct identity, but the vocal approach hinders this in some ways.Not that punk rock is really known for it's vocal dynamics.The outro / intro pieces are interesting and are ideas that would have been better served if placed with in the context of one of these songs. "Midnight Rain" is a direction I can see the band benefiting the most from moving in. The vocals even on even more of a growl to them and the metal infused guitar really drives the song and separates them from their peers. This is where the Killing Joke influence can be heard.

The the bulk of this momentum on "Conqueror". The riff is not as well defined as the previous song, the bass picks up most of the slack while the vocals wander around.There are effective breakdowns that lead back into the verse. "Dungeon of Stones" hints at an underlying creepiness but the song moves in such a punk fashion some of this crashes right past you. This album has it's moments. I 'll give it a 6 as it's hard for me to shake the Bellicose Minds like vocals. I want more of "Midnight Rain".